ToyNews Issue 160 April 2015 by Future PLC

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No. 160 l April 2015

www.toynews-online.biz

Retail l Licensing l Pre-School l Marketing 08 Inventors Workshop It’s back, and bigger and better than before. Here’s what to expect from this year’s event.

21 Park life We interview the team behind this month’s Independent Toy & Gift Show at Cranmore Park.

33 Small fortunes What’s new this year in the lucrative - but equally competitive pre-school arena.

61 Game changers Traditional, tech enhanced and licensed, we’ve got them all in our games and puzzles guide.

From the roots up Knowledge is the new cool and there’s no better time to nurture the next generation of scientists than now. This month we take a look at the STEM toy sector and explore how suppliers and retailers are helping the category to grow

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LEGO and the LEGO logo are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ÂŠ2015 The LEGO Group.

WELCOME

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

Carloe Eagles Account Manager ceagles@nbmedia.com

James Marions Production Executive jmarions@nbmedia.com

Tom Carpenter Designer tcarpenter@nbmedia.com

Mark Burton Managing Director mburton@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. ToyNews circulation is 17.1% higher than its closest competitor

CONTENTS Regulars 06 10 10 14 14 16 50 52 74

News Campaign of the Month Playtime NPD Analysis Industry Movers Industry Opinion Toy Shop UK Good Toy Guide Jon Salisbury

Features 08 Inventors Workshop Preview 18 Focus on ... STEM products 21 Big Interview: Independent Toy & Gift Show Licensing.biz 23 News 27 The growth of CBeebies Land Pre-school (sponsored by VTech Baby) 29 News 30 Pre-school opinion 33 Sector Guide: Pre-school Retail 49 News 55 Sector Guide: Radio Control 61 Sector Guide: Games & Puzzles

COMMENT

The science bit

Science and maths lessons are now inspiring and experimental, firing up children’s imaginations. And the toy industry is continuing this outside of the classroom.

THERE’S AN episode of The Big Bang Theory in which Sheldon, Leonard and Howard visit a class of female students to try and get them excited about science. If you’ve ever seen the show, you can probably guess it doesn’t go well for them. They end up calling Bernadette and Amy – real life female scientists (and the other halves of Howard and Sheldon) – who end up telling the class how the world needs more female scientists and they shouldn’t be discouraged from it as a career. All while dressed as Cinderella and Snow White, having skipped work to go to Disneyland. While the scriptwriters may have chosen to go down the route of ‘look we’re intelligent, educated women but still like to wear pretty dresses and lipstick, you don’t have to choose one or the other’, the fact remains that girls are shying away from choosing science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects. While shows like The Big Bang Theory have helped to raise the profile of such subjects among a certain demographic, it is making them more accessible to younger children (of both genders) which should really be the kicker. Science and maths lessons are no longer the dry, confusing hour-long sessions that I remember from school, but are inspiring, hands-on and experimental, really firing up children’s imaginations. And this is something that the toy industry can – and is – continuing outside of the classroom. In this month’s issue, we take a look at how the STEM toys movement is on the rise. Encouragingly, all of the firms involved are finding their lines are being met with much interest at retail level. The toy industry has long been admired for its ability to develop ‘real-world’ issues into successful and sustainable product sectors. Science and education toys are nothing new, of course, but this fresh approach to STEM – be it via four awkward scientists in a hit US sitcom, or through ranges such as Roominate and GoldiBlox – has opened up a new frontier. Samantha Loveday sloveday@nbmedia.com

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NEWS

Games and puzzles sector enjoying renaissance Firms working in the market, including Bananagrams and Gibsons, claim these types of toys are “as popular as ever”

Anagranimals ready for first production run Firm will begin taking orders for the new range from the end of June By Billy Langsworthy

By Billy Langsworthy GAMES AND puzzles are enjoying something of a renaissance, some of the biggest firms working within the sector have told ToyNews. Bananagrams is launching its new Wild Tiles game this year and the firm’s Top Banana Rena Nathanson believes the sector is in good health. “I feel this particular sector is experiencing a bit of a renaissance,” Nathanson told ToyNews. “There is definitely a move away from insular digital play to bring people back around the table. Some like to work on their own with a more puzzle focused activity and others enjoy the social interaction of games.” Cartamundi’s head of marketing and licensing, Trudi Bishop, believes the classics are the key to keeping consumers coming back to the sector. “I believe it is mainly the classic family games and strong character licensing that keep consumers coming back,” said Bishop. “Playing cards are still going strong after well over 1,000 years to date. Even in their

most traditional version - the Royal Flush deck - people have thousands of games to choose from and more are being invented all the time.” Amanda Murphy, sales and marketing manager at Gibsons Games, has also seen sales grow in recent years. Murphy added: “We find the sector is doing particularly well now, with the current state of the economy, as people are favouring saving their

pennies and spending more of their evenings at home.” Elsewhere, Bananagrams’ Nathanson believes the blossoming game club scene in the UK also goes some way to reflect the booming sector. “Events such as Playtime PR’s Board Game Club are a great example of the growing appetite for gaming,” added Nathanson. “Social events such as this seem to be on the increase in the US as well. Trend setting game nights are (thankfully) taking over.”

ANAGRAMIMALS, A unique range of collectable and interchangeable plush toys, is anticipating high demand ahead of its first production run later this year. Based on the popular line of children’s books, the plush Anagranimals will feature a gang of cuddly creatures, each made up of several different animals. Characters in the range include Heidi the HippoCroco-Puss, Pedro the PigOrilla-Roo and Ebenezer the Ele-Zeb-Zee. Each plush toy comes in three separate parts that stick together with Velcro, so that a child owning a HippoCroco-Puss and a Pig-OrillaRoo can swap parts to create the likes of a Hippo-Rilla-Roo or a Piggy-Croco-Puss.

The range will launch with six characters to collect, with up to 216 potential Anagranimal combinations to create and the firm is optimistic the line will be popular. “We will begin taking orders for the Anagranimal toys for delivery from the end of June,” co-founder and Anagranimals CEO Leith Moghli told ToyNews. “Given the huge popularity, Best New Toy award and TV coverage, we are expecting a high level of demand. As such, we will be encouraging retailers to place their orders early to avoid disappointment. “The first production run is for 10,000 units, although a proportion of these have been pre-sold.” Anagranimals: 07736299200

Kayes of Cardiff snaps up Bizzy Bitz Welsh firm has signed as exclusive distributor of the construction toy range to the independent sector By Billy Langsworthy KAYES OF Cardiff has been appointed the exclusive distributor of the new Bizzy Bitz construction toy range to the independent toy retail sector. Launching with five retail products ranging from £5 to £20, Kayes will showcase the new range at the Independent Toy & Gift Show in Solihull this month and at the Toymaster Show in Harrogate in May. 06 April

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Bizzy Bitz allows children to create a range of different models. The shapes lock together using a simple and patented universal ‘ball and socket’ system, which is easy to use for children of all ages. “I’m very excited to be taking on Bizzy Bitz as an addition to our already extensive range,” said Philip Kaye, managing director at Kayes of Cardiff. “It’s a great product. The clever shapes can easily be

joined together to create a multitude of 3D shapes, as well as recognisable and even moving models. “There’s plenty of room in the market for a new, innovative and educational construction toy system and we are proud to be a part of its launch in the UK.” Bizzy Bitz creator, Alta Fogel, added: “Since we first showed Bizzy Bitz on Dragons’ Den over year ago, we have come a long way. With new branding and a

great range of products at sensible prices, Bizzy Bitz is ready to go to market. “The TV Dragons saw its potential but couldn’t invest. Now we’ve found our own Welsh dragon who will help to get the product where it should be - on the shelves for children across the UK to start enjoying the limitless potential of Bizzy Bitz.” Kayes of Cardiff: 029 2036 3678 www.toynews-online.biz

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NEWS

Games must adapt to changing tech to grow, says Cartamundi The firm has enjoyed success with technology through its Shuffle line of app-enhanced card games By Billy Langsworthy CARTAMUNDI BELIEVES that adapting to the latest technology is key to the continued growth of the games and puzzles sector. The firm has embraced app technology with its Shuffle line of card games and it believes that the balance between innovation and fun gameplay is key. “Being agile in an everchanging market [is key to the sector’s ongoing growth],” said Trudi Bishop, head of marketing and licensing at Cartamundi.

“For example, playing cards have already gone virtual: on smartphones, computers and other devices. Cartamundi makes iCards for the connected generation and integrated apps to support its successful Shuffle line.” Cartamundi believes that keeping tabs on the brightest emerging brands is the key to success in the sector. “Popular brands are emerging all the time that children in particular want to see in card game form,” added Bishop. “At the same time, there are millions of poker, bridge,

snap and happy families players - not to mention would-be magicians - who want regular playing cards.

“The key therefore is to adapt to changing technology and brand trends but never to lose sight of the USP of

the best games and puzzles: simple, fun gameplay that appeals to people of all ages.” Bishop believes the games sector is in a good place at the moment, and that the future is bright. “No matter how much the formats and technology change, people still love games and puzzles,” Bishop told ToyNews. “They have a great fun family appeal, but also an educational appeal. I don’t see that ever disappearing. It’s just the way we play that may evolve.” Cartamundi: 01268 511522

Come Round wants to party with toy firms Party firm to increase activity in toy sector and put popular brands in the hands of consumers and retailers By Robert Hutchins BRAND PARTY firm Come Round is calling on more toy manufacturers and retailers to get on board as it expands its activity within the sector. Developed to ‘put brands in the hands of the consumers,’ the firm curates special parties to help create a buzz around popular properties and introduce new customers to various products. Already working with the likes of LEGO and BBC Worldwide’s Doctor Who, Come Round believes its parties can benefit both toy retailers and manufacturers alike through social media coverage and word of mouth.

“We are actively looking to expand our presence in the toy sector,” Giles Harris, founder of Come Round told ToyNews. “Toys lend themselves perfectly to this model as they are already exciting interactive and engaging, so they are a natural fit for fun events at home or at retail.” Last year, the firm held a series of successful LEGO parties, with a total of 1,600 guests and 5,400 hours of exposure. “Our insight tells us that parents are far more likely to recommend and purchase a toy which they and their kids have had the chance to se in action,” continued Harris.

“These parties provide an opportunity to showcase and trial a toy in its natural environment before purchase. The in-store model would work well for toy retailers looking for ways to entertain children during school holidays, increase dwell time and bring product to life to drive sales.” The traditional Come Round model involves the running of hundreds of brand parties on the same date, however new technology now allows the company to run a rolling programme of parties across the whole year. Come Round: www.comeround.com

You will have heard our work. It’s In over 5000 products. Translation and Localisation in over 40 languages: expand your market Voiceover, Custom Music and Sound Effects: sounds that shine  Professional Recording Studios: optimised for toys, apps and web  Apps, Software and Electronics: your concepts realised  

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Last year’s Workshop helped unite the UK’s toy and game inventor community and gave them a rare chance to pitch their ideas to some of the world’s biggest companies face to face. Well, we’re doing it again, and this time it’s all set to bigger and better. Billy Langsworthy reveals what’s in store this year IN ITS simplest form, without toy inventors, there wouldn’t be a toy industry. New and innovative toys are at the very heart of the business. They could not be more important - without new play experiences the industry would stagnate. The tricky part for inventors who know they have a great product, is getting in front of the right people. The inventors community is a passionate one - many have spent years patiently knocking on doors, calling, sending countless emails, attending Toy Fairs all in the hope of getting their products noticed and picked up. 08 April

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We launched the Inventors Workshop to try and end the frustration for inventors seeking time with toy companies. Last year, following a series of features focused on inventors, we gave them their chance at meeting with the right company and, just as importantly, the right people within it. We’re passionate about helping inventors showcase their fantastic creative talent. And so, the Workshop is back again this year. This year’s Inventors Workshop will be at held at Whittlebury Hall in Northampton on Tuesday, September 22nd 2015.

More than 40 of the most innovative and influential toy and game manufactures, technology companies and financial houses will present, discuss and connect with over 150 inventors expected at the one-day conference. This year, we are splitting the conference into two new tracks to make it easier to enjoy insight, discussions and presentations from inventors, manufacturers, technology companies and funding experts. This also allows us to incorporate sessions that we couldn’t squeeze in last year. One track will be aimed at absolute beginners with panels, talks and keynotes

focusing on the nuts and bolts of inventing. An alternative track will cater to more experienced creators and those who attended last year’s conference. This year’s talks and panel sessions will cover a range of topics including The Importance of Innovation, How We Made It, Working With Tech, A Beginner’s Guide to Funding, How to Manage a Successful Kickstarter Campaign, The Perfect Pitch, Toy Safety, Legal Know-How, What Retail is Looking For and Journey of a Toy Craze among others. After our inspiring programme, we will be giving more time on the day to the

life changing Pitch sessions that will give inventors an even greater chance of connecting with the right business partner. After last year, and the success Gillian Logan and Skinny Sketcher have enjoyed since being picked up back in September, we know this event works. It brings creative types together and gives this thriving community an opportunity to network, socialise and get their ideas out there. We are excited about the year ahead and hope the 2015 Inventors Workshop can make a big difference to the next generation of play and the people within it. www.toynews-online.biz

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Steve Reece, Kids Brand Insight “Toy and game inventors are the lifeblood of the toy industry. Last year’s Toy & Game Inventors Workshop gave unparalleled access to the UK toy industry for inventors. The event was a great success in terms of participation and quality of content. Can’t wait for the next one.” Rena Nathanson, Top Banana at Bananagrams “It was a fantastic day and a great opportunity to put faces to names. I learned an awful lot from veterans in the industry and was inspired talking to the new inventors. It’s really nice to see lots of good energy and ideas that promise to reinvigorate the toy and game sector.” Wendy Munt, Be Inspired “What an excellent, high energy day last year’s Inventors Workshop was. It was fantastic to see so many interesting ideas presented and be able to give advice to over 20 inventors on their product development and possible routes to market. The feedback I’ve had from the inventors involved has been highly positive and several are now having further discussions regarding potential distribution.” Sir Torquil Norman, Bluebird Toys founder “It was a very useful day for toy inventors. I hope it becomes the first of many.”

Andrew Harman, Yay Games “Meeting people in the business who have been giving me advice has been great. I really enjoyed the conference. Hearing about other gamer’s and designer’s experiences was also really rewarding. There’s absolutely no better place to learn than from people that have gone out there and done it. We had newbies like myself and people with a massive amount of history in the space like Sir Torquil Norman.” Gillian Logan, Skinny Sketcher “I could see the Workshop was an amazing opportunity, quickly bought a ticket and booked my flight from Glasgow. As a direct result of the pitching sessions, I secured a licence deal with Asobi, which has been a complete game changer for Skinny Sketcher. Deal aside, the panel sessions and talks by leading figures within the toy industry were not only informative but hugely inspiring.”

To get involved with the Workshop and its pitching sections as a sponsor, contact jholdway@nbmedia.com. Or, if you feel you have something to offer the conference programme, contact blangsworthy@nbmedia.com. www.toynews-online.biz

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April 09

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CAMPAIGN OF THE MONTH / PLAYTIME

Magic Choc Make-a-Bar Chocolate Factory Featuring 100 per cent Belgian chocolate and a variety of themed packs including the Minions, Re:creation’s Magic Choc range has an extensive campaign in place to keep it tasty all year round

CONTACT

Re:creation: 0118973 6222

THE MAGIC CHOC range from Re:creation allows kids and chocolate lovers to design and make their own personalised chocolate bars. The Make-a-Bar Chocolate Factory Kits include 100 per cent Belgian chocolate and everything kids need to create treats in minutes.

www.makeabar.co.uk

Each pack includes milk, dark and white chocolate, an activity tray and a selection of themed template designs, including special Christmas, Easter, Halloween and Valentine’s packs. In addition to a standard single pack, a special edition Minions twin pack will also be

www.recreationltd.co.uk

available that will capitalise on the buzz surrounding the forthcoming movie launch.

ONLINE A dedicated brand website has been developed at makeabar.co.uk, providing a one-stop destination for consumers to discover instructions, creative ideas, competitions and video content as well as links to retailers. A new web app offers the opportunity to unleash kids’ inner designer as they can design and print templates which can then be recreated in chocolate. MAKING-A-NAME Showcasing Make-a-Bar’s original fun factor, ease of use and creativity, a heavyweight online advertising campaign will roll out throughout the year.

BRAND NEW Re:creation has developed a new brand image for the range with a vibrant, more colourful presentation to add sparkle to its lineup. The look has been designed for maximum stand out on shelf as well as to appeal across genders and a broad age spectrum.

ON THE ROAD The Make-a-Bar Chocolate Factory team will make an appearance at a series of live food and family events throughout the year. The team will offer demonstrations and taste tests allowing consumers to get hands-on with the product.

STORE STAND OUT Currently, fixed feature FSDUs are present in toy specialist retailers with video content to showcase product demonstrations. To create more stand out in any store, FSDUs have been designed, showcasing the new brand style of both standard and licensed product.

Playtime This issue, we examine how the commercial kids channels performed in the first month of 2015 vs 2014 (January 1st to January 31st).

PR CAMPAIGN The PR campaign will focus on key calendar gifting opportunities targeting parenting and kids’ press, and a blogger programme set to feed into a social media push.

Generation Media takes a look at which commercial kids channels have dominated the first month of 2015 The bars below represent the channels year on year % growth or decline in Eq. Impacts with the diamonds representing the level of Kids Eq. impacts

The majority of kids commercial channels experienced year on year audience decline with only six commercial channels demonstrating an increase in viewing. Following Pop and Tiny Pop’s move to Freeview, both channels have seen a year on year increase of 282 per cent and 64 per cent respectively, meaning Pop is now the third largest kids commercial channel. Cartoon Network remains in the number one spot despite a seven per cent decline vs 2014.

Source: BARB 2015

The channel delivers a higher share of viewing against boys (70 per cent in January ‘15) and as boys watched less TV than girls in January 2015 (49 per cent of

total kids viewing was against boys) this will contribute to the channel’s year on year decline. In total, kids commercial viewing to kids channels

is down one per cent, which would have been lower if not for Pop and Tiny Pop moving across to free to air. A year ago, kids commercial viewing was up three per cent

mainly due to the fact that the figures were recording Disney Channel and Disney Jr which were not available commercially in January 2013.

ToyNews PlayTime is provided by Generation Media 0207 255 4650 | www.generationmedia.co.uk 10 April

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Project1_Layout 1 17/03/2015 15:48 Page 1

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015 l Whittlebury Hall, Northampton

The Inventors Workshop will be held at Whittlebury Hall in Northampton on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015. More than 40 of the most innovative and influential toy and game manufacturers, technology companies and financial houses will present, discuss, and connect with more than 150 inventors who are expected at the one-day conference.

ON THE DAY The Inventors Workshop was launched to try and end the frustration for inventors seeking time with toy companies, to give them their chance at meeting with the right company and, just as importantly, the right people within it. This way we can contribute to the continued growth of the toy industry.

THE IDEA The conference will be split into two new tracks to make it easier to enjoy insight, discussions and presentations from manufacturers, inventors and technology companies. There will be an Inventors Track aimed at beginners and an Industry Track for more experienced creators, including those who attended last year's event.

CONFERENCE After our inspiring programme of advice, ideas and collaboration, we will be giving more time on the day to the life changing Pitch sessions that will give inventors an even greater chance of connecting with the right business partner.

THE PITCH â&#x20AC;&#x153;As a result of the pitching sessions, I secured a deal for my creation: Skinny Sketcher. This led to the development of a whole range, which I launched earlier this year at London Toy Fair. The product is on shelves and the whole process was set in motion by the Workshop. Deal aside, the panel sessions were hugely inspiring.â&#x20AC;? Gillian Logan, Skinny Sketcher inventor.

The Result

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Connect with creative inventors that you would not have met otherwise via private scheduled one-to-one meetings

Secure a contract with potentially the next biggest play experience

Help to educate, promote and inspire the next generation of toy and game inventors

Invest in an event that encourages innovation and evolution of the toy and games business

High profile branding across the duration of the Inventors Workshop marketing campaign

Demonstrate leadership via the engaging conference programme

For sponsorship opportunities contact Jodie Holdway, jholdway@nbmedia.com, 01992 535647 or Carole Eagles, ceagles@nbmedia.com. 01992 535647

NPD RESEARCH

Retail Sales Trends

Properties

New launches make impact as market growth continues 2015 CONTINUES to grow on 2014 performance, with the UK toy market up seven per cent in both value and volume for February. Ten out of 11 super categories were in value growth for a second month in a row, with action figures continuing to be the fastest growing, up 33 per cent driven by last year’s film properties such as Transformers and Ninja Turtles, as well as Big Hero 6. New ranges have been driving a lot of the early growth this year with one of the top performing new properties in the last 12 months, Little Live Pets pushing youth electronics, to be the second fastest growing super category, up 22 per cent. While infant and pre-school toys is the only category in decline in value, down two per cent, volume has actually grown five per cent in February. PS figures and play-sets has been adding value to the pre-school market in the last month with Peppa Pig, Half Shell Heroes and Paw Patrol all contributing heavily to growth. In addition, the latest LEGO brand launches - LEGO Classic and LEGO Bionicle - have fuelled the building sets growth over the last month. However, the largest new property this year is the girls

collectable range Shopkins, which is now the 15th property across total toys just two months into 2015 and has sold over £2m. Jez Fraser-Hook, practice director of NPD Group’s toy business in

Best item progression February 2015

Ninjago Boulder Blaster

The LEGO line blasted its way up the charts from number 827 in January to number 36 in February, a whopping 791 places.

the UK, said: “Many of the fastest growing areas of the market have been driven in Q1 by new launches, which is one of the reasons why the toy market is such an exciting and dynamic industry to work in.”

Sales UK toy sales

(value, year-to-date)

YTD 2013

YTD 2014

+7%

Source: NPD

Average toy price February ’14: £7.28

February ’15: £7.28

UK RETAIL SALES TRENDS February 2015 (£ sales – value)

February 2015 (Unit sales – volume)

1LEGO MINIFIGURES

MATCH ATTAX 2014/15

FROZEN SNOW GLOW ELSA

LEGO

TOPPS

MATCH ATTAX 2014/15

JAKKS PACIFIC

HOT WHEELS BASIC CAR ASSORTMENT

DISNEY FROZEN ELSA SPARKLING ICE CASTLE

LEGO

SHOPKINS 2 PACK

FLAIR

DISNEY FROZEN ENCHANTED 2015 STICKERS

HOT WHEELS BASIC CAR ASSORTMENT

MATTEL

LEGO MIXELS

LEGO

PLAY-DOH SINGLE TUB ASSORTMENT

CARS 2 CHARACTER ASSORTMENT

MATTEL

PREMIER LEAGUE STICKER COLLECTION 2015

SHOPKINS 5 PACK

FLAIR

PLAY-DOH CLASSIC 4 PACK

LEGO

10. MY LITTLE PONY MYSTERY BAG ASSORT.

10. STAR WARS IMPERIAL TROOP TRANSPORT

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.

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TOPPS MATTEL FLAIR PANINI LEGO HASBRO TOPPS HASBRO HASBRO

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APPOINTMENTS

Industry moves This issue, Wow Toys welcomes four new team members, Clive Wooster hands over to the Famosa UK team and HTI star as our Team of the Month TEAM OF THE MONTH Who’s in the team? We have Jenny Watson, the global marketing director; Andrew Coplestone, the licensing director; Andrea Lenehan, the senior brand manager (girls); Leanna Haslam, the brand assistant (girls); Richard Venner, senior brand manager (boys); Neil martin, assistant brand manager (boys); Justin Clasby, brand manager (pre-school); Kimberley Marriott, brand assistant (pre-school), Sarah Holden, marcoms manager; Mike Butterworth, product manager (everyday toys) and James Taylor, product assistant (everyday toys). What have been your biggest successes in the last 12 months?

WOW TOYS The preschool toy specialist has welcomed four new hires to its sales team this month. CHRISTOPHER WATTS has joined as UK sales manager and is responsible for principle major accounts, while FAMOSA The firm has bid a fond farewell to CLIVE WOOSTER who has stepped down from his role, handing over to the local team at Famosa UK.

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We’d have to say bringing the new team together. This is a formative year for HTI. Our CEO, John Hutt has big ambitions for growth of the firm, and part of that is bringing in the right team. We are already starting to make a difference. From a product point of view, we are really pleased with the response to the Barbie Glam Bag, hence bringing that together with the extremely popular Frozen licence, and we are really excited to see how that is going to do next year. What are you guys working on now? We have had some excellent response to our Peppa Pig kitchen, so we are now busy

SALLY IRWIN, THOMAS HUDSON and DEBORAH STANLEY have joined as regional sales managers. Wow Toys managing director, NADIM EDNAN-LAPEROUSE has welcomed the new members to the team. During his tenure with the company, Wooster has helped build its UK business, leaving the firm in ‘very capable hands.’ Wooster is now looking forward to undertaking more exciting projects

HTI finalising the details on the product, getting them ready for the first inspections and ready to ship for the autumn winter season. Nothing stands still in the toy industry, and we are in the middle of kicking off our autumn/winter 2016 product development. The team has already presented concepts for 2016 and they’re looking really exciting. What’s the hardest part of working in the toy industry? Knowing what season you’re in. You never know what year or season you are in because we are generally working on about six seasons at any one time. It can get complex, in terms of the speed at which we turn ranges over. I

don’t think there is anything as fast as the toy industry. What’s the best part of working in the industry? Making toys and knowing you are having a huge impact on a child somewhere in the world. We all have childhood memories, so it’s nice to be part of creating them for kids. Who’s the office joker? We have three offices across

in the toy trade and can be contacted on clivewooster@aol.com.

Tomy, having worked on the Bob the Builder and Thomas toy ranges.

KIDDIMOTO The Somerset-based balance bike specialist has welcomed a double appointment as the firm continues its plans for growth in 2015. NIKKI TOOLE has been promoted to the role of sales executive, having made her mark by developing relationships with key customers when she joined the team in 2014. Meanwhile, ALI ANSTEE has joined the team to implement a comprehensive marketing plan for the year ahead. She boasts experience at

TOY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION The association has elected three new members to the TIA board of directors. KERRY CUNNION, senior vice president of sales at Tomy International, HOWARD KAHN, chairman of Madam Alexander and CEO of Kahn Lucas and BRUCE RAIFFE, president of Gund have all been nominated. The three will now commence the first of their two-year terms office until February 2017. Meanwhile, JOHN BARBOUR, president of LeapFrog, RICHARD

Fleetwood, London and Hong Kong. I couldn’t pinpoint anyone as the practical joker, we all have our own quirks. There’s a lot of fun across the team. Who makes the best cuppa? The north/south divide is interesting here. The Fleetwood office prides itself on the best cuppa, whereas the London office is the most proactive at going out and buying coffee.

BARRY, senior vice president at Toys R Us and MANUEL TORRES, senior vice president of global toys and publishing at Nickelodeon Consumer Products, have all been reelected for a second term. President CARTER KEITHLEY has welcomed the new members. RE:CREATION The firm has bolstered its sales team with the appointment of three new sales agents. MARTIN PIKE, CHRIS BULLOCK and DAVID GLICKSMAN have all joined the team. Bullock will cover Scotland, Midlands and the North of England, Glicksman will represent East Anglia and the South Eastern region, while Pike will look after the South West, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

www.toynews-online.biz

18/03/2015 16:51

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17/03/2015 15:40

OPINION

Big trouble in little China Steve Reece takes a look at the industry’s recent over reliance on China as a manufacturing hub and what possible solutions are on hand to help toy firms THESE ARE interesting times for the manufacturing end of the toy business. Rising costs in the traditional toy manufacturing heartlands in China is an ongoing trend, with senior industry figures recently talking about the need for Chinese manufacturing companies to relocate further inland to help address manufacturing costs. One of the biggest issues facing the global toy industry is a clear over reliance on China as a manufacturing hub. Capacity remains one of China’s massive strengths. Manufacturing plants can’t appear overnight, nor can the vast array of expertise and knowledge present in the Southern

China heartland where toy manufacturing is centred. The toy industry simply doesn’t have a short-term alternative of sufficient scale. For years the solution was heading towards other Asian markets where labour costs remain lower. In fact, one of the clear trends of the 21st century thus far is for established large scale manufacturing businesses to open new offshoot factories in Vietnam. But these extensions come with their own challenges in terms of infrastructure, knowledge and supporting technical capabilities. There appears to be little doubt that Vietnam and other countries in South East Asia will significantly

expand their capacity over the next decade or so, but it’s unlikely to reach the scale and output levels of the Chinese heartland in a hurry. In the short-term, one supporting factor for UK-based companies heading towards peak manufacturing season for 2015 is the massive fall in value of the Euro against

factories looks set to be hugely stretched this year, leaving gaps in output for Chinese factories to fill which should work in favour of UK based companies as the pound has not seen the same dramatic level of devaluation against the USD. In practical terms, and to take the micro perspective, we have

Manufacturing plants can’t appear overnight, nor can the vast expertise present in Southern China. the US dollar, which makes USD-based manufacturing massively less appealing to Eurozone based companies. Capacity in Eurozone

found new factories for numerous clients of late, and regardless of the macro trends we haven’t had issues finding good suppliers

with all the appropriate audits/standards, etc. Although we have had to shop around to some degree to ensure capacity. The best approach for individual companies seems to be to ensure a broad enough base of available/approved factories to secure reliable, responsive supply, with perhaps some investigation to local alternatives. As far as the longer term picture is concerned, while there remain challenges in terms of outlook, cost effective supply normally ramps up somewhere, somehow to meet demand. So maybe we can let the Chinese factories worry about that one for now.

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

The wonders of crowdfunding Carlos Lopez recently founded ToyBacker.com, a crowdfunding platform dedicated to toy and game creators. He explains why now is the right time to launch such a site LET ME start by saying that our ToyBacker crowdfunding platform concept has received an overwhelming amount of support from the toy inventor community. We have received dozens of emails from seasoned inventors saying they cannot wait to put an idea up on our site. Crowdfunding has become a successful way for an inventor to raise the money needed to create, manufacture and distribute a new product. You just need to look at successful crowdfunding campaigns like Goldieblox or Exploding Kittens to see what a crowd can do for a new product.

The days of campaigning on your own to friends, family or generous lenders, are over. Now, you can get the funds you need in 30 to 60 days through crowdfunding online. Still, there will always be the inventor who fears their idea may be stolen if they go the way of the internet. Access to the internet is a blessing and curse. You are showing your idea to millions of people who can now quickly see, evaluate and potentially donate to help an inventor get his or her product off the drawing board. The risk lies in the ‘bad seed’ internet thieves who will try to steal or even duplicate an idea,

regardless of whether it’s patented. But can’t we say this could happen anywhere? The advantage that crowdfunding has is that it allows for proof of concept, and immediate

incubated and then ready to be shared. Let’s face it, backers are visual. They want to see what they are getting for their contribution and in most cases, a sketch

The days of campaigning on your own to friends, family or generous lenders are over. Now, you can get the funds you need in 30 to 60 days through crowdfunding online. early consumer reads on an inventor’s idea. But this only works best when an idea is fully realised, developed,

or ‘rough idea’ won’t cut it. This is the advantage that seasoned toy inventors have. They know what it takes to produce, cost, develop

and even market an item to their target consumer. Backers like this. Having a patent will strengthen an inventor’s idea and also helps to dissuade copycats. We know that as ToyBacker.com grows, we will collect a lot of new novice creators, as well as a whole host of new inventors with many amazing ideas. It’s exciting to think that despite being in its infancy, ToyBacker.com is receiving such support. I think the toy industry recognises the changing landscape of the consumer as it relates to the internet. Crowdfunding can no longer be ignored.

Carlos Lopez is the co-founder of ToyBacker.com, a new crowdfunding site dedicated to the toy sector. He can be contacted at lopezcarlosluis23@gmail.com.

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www.toynews-online.biz

18/03/2015 12:44

OPINION

Get video content up the marketing agenda Re:creation’s Katy Fletcher preaches the power of videos for engaging consumers with brands, having enjoyed success with Razor’s series of Ken Box parodies THESE DAYS we all understand the importance of the internet when it comes to a solid marketing programme. Target audiences are spreading themselves thin when it comes to absorbing a multitude of different media. In the sea of online collateral though, video content can still be seen by many as a ‘nice to do’. It is however an incredibly powerful tool that can engage and inspire consumers on a vastly different level to traditional TV and, in the right circumstances, hit far greater numbers too. Why then is video content so often just an AOB on the marketing agenda? Repeated studies on video content revealed consumers

are at least 50 per cent more likely to buy something if they have viewed an accompanying video. While price is always going to be a factor, in a line-up of comparable products it stands to reason that the one painting the most vivid picture of itself will stand out. Demo videos are a simple starting point for any video asset library and, they don’t need to break the bank. They have a multitude of uses as well as supporting online retail. Done the right way, spend involved in production could also be gained back in consumer response time needed. A Razor FAQ video, which we created in house with

willing volunteers, has generated over 180,000 views, reiterating the point that money isn’t everything when it comes to assets. Viral videos are clearly the golden goose here.

for Razor with the Ken Box Crazy Cart Gymkhana parody YouTube videos, with combined views of over four million. Of course, virality is something that can’t be

Big engagement numbers are always going to be exciting and we’ve been fortunate to see some of this elusive viral success

planned for or guaranteed, and this is very likely the reason that as marketers, we can shy away from investing in this kind of material.

Only the consumer can decide what they feel is worthy of sharing but the real bottom line is that numbers aren’t everything. They’re nice of course, but quality of engagement is more important. Video expressing a unique brand personality, a sense of fun or forging an emotional connection with an audience has the chance to deliver something that may otherwise be impossible through TV advertising. It may also be the seed to motivate your fans into action. We’re certainly seeing that with consumers creating their own Crazy Cart videos. A little imagination could go a long way.

Katy Fletcher is the brand manager for outdoor at Re:creation Ltd. She can be contacted on 0118 973 6222

Supplier relationships: Tips for success Ebury’s Roman Itskovich reveals his top hints for toy firms of all shapes and sizes to level the playing field when it comes to getting financial support FOR THE toy sector, some peaks, such as Christmas, are predictable. Others are less so: a computer game becomes a hit, or a certain scooter or plush toy suddenly disappears from shelves because it got featured in a famous TV show. Managing and capitalising on spikes in demand is a challenge for any business. How you respond at such times can not only transform the bottom line, but be the key to achieving long-term sustainable growth. Without the benefit of a crystal ball, all businesses will have moments when they are caught off guard by a new trend or unexpected increase in demand.

Taking advantage of these moments often requires immediate access to finance. In addition, when trends are predictable, stock must be ordered, and likely paid for some time before it will be purchased by customers. At Christmas, there might be nine months between stock being ordered and paid for before costs are recouped from the customer. This gap between outlay and income can leave businesses vulnerable and may strain relationships with suppliers if appropriate finance is unavailable. Without appropriate finance in times of opportunity, businesses can find that their hands are tied. This is particularly

true in situations where fast turnaround is needed as trends don’t last that long. The toy companies we work with often tell us that the major corporates, who theoretically should need less help, actually receive far greater support from the financial system. They have services and means at their disposal which are not afforded to smaller companies. But, there are tactics you can employ to help level the playing field. First of all, start right. A better understanding of your supplier helps you order better and be better prepared. Make sure you have done your due diligence – visit your supplier and be

precise with requirements. Developing a good relationship with them will not only help to ensure the best product but will likely make them more supportive to help you handle the unexpected. Collaborative supply chains rest on information, goods and finance. Making these three elements smooth, fast and convenient offers both suppliers and their customers lowers costs, greater ability to exploit opportunities and space to try new ideas. Customers that demonstrate liquidity, agility and flexibility are always more attractive to a supplier. Financial flexibility can be the best negotiating tool with suppliers who are juggling

their own risk, cash flow and investment priorities. There are a number of financing options available to SMEs beyond the bounds of the traditional banking system. Extra cash gives you a negotiating variable for discounts, better terms or better relationships. If possible, paying a percentage up-front will not only secure the best quality products but also help build favour with your suppliers. Manage currency risk to protect margins. Learning to manage currency risk and to strategically plan your approach to finance would help increase profits when exporting or importing goods and to maximise the value of overseas payments.

Roman Itskovich is the VP financial products at Ebury. Ebury is an international fintech company offering a wide range of financial services including Currency Exchange, Trade Finance and Physical Metals. He can be contacted on 0845 519 1009.

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April 17

18/03/2015 12:44

STEM TOYS

STEM sells

With an emphasis on encouraging kids to engage with science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the STEM toys movement is on the rise. Robert Hutchins looks at the sector’s impact on the UK market

WHEN A travelling scientist heard that the UK was staring at a future where technology outweighed the brains to manage it, something struck a chord. Brad Gross, a teacher and performer, could not believe that the UK engineering sector – home of Faraday and Brunel – was already worrying about where the next generation of engineers was coming from. “With budget cuts, teacher limitations, parents’ limited time and interest, science seems to get pushed aside at a time when it needs to be hip,” explains Gross, co-founder of Blast Science, a team that takes interactive science shows to schools across the UK. “To live in a technological world where only a few know how things actually work is worrying.” 18 April

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It’s somewhat of a relief to the science enthusiast and Thames and Kosmos ambassador then, that the UK toy market is beginning to celebrate a sector aimed at encouraging today’s youth to engage with science. “Thankfully, science is becoming cool and geek is chic,” he continues. “Educational toys are the bridge between learning and fun. Science kits are starting to encourage young people to want to know more.” Science and education toys, of course, have been a popular choice for parents for decades. However, it is only in recent years that the movement known as STEM has started to really capture the public’s imagination. Focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the

concept – one that has risen to particular fame in the US market thanks to the likes of GoldieBlox and Roominate – attempts to target children directly. But more notable than that, is its approach to encouraging girls to pursue STEM subjects in the hope to see an increase of women within the next generation of engineers.

“STEM toys are really about getting kids comfortable with these scientific concepts,” explains Bettina Chen, co-founder of US toy brand, Roominate. “When we talked to schools across the US, we noticed that boys would really get excited about the

subjects, while girls tended to back off it. “What the Roominate brand is about, is giving girls the opportunity to experience these subjects in a fun way, from a younger age.” A qualified electrical engineer herself, Chen recounts the moment back in 2010 when she noticed a distinct lack of girls pursuing similar subjects at a university level. It was then that she teamed with her business partner, Alice Brooks, to embark on their venture into the toy market. “Toys had really influenced us from a young age,” Chen tells ToyNews. “We saw an opportunity to make toys for girls that would absolutely get them interested in an area that was really lacking a female presence.” www.toynews-online.biz

18/03/2015 12:19

STEM TOYS Introducing girls to construction, circuitry, design, craft and storytelling, Roominate joins a rapidly growing market in the US of science toys, a sector that according to Chen is only increasing in demand. “Consumer response to Roominate has been great,” she says. “We started out in 2012 when we launched our project on Kickstarter. This was extremely successful and we ended up with $86,000 after 30 days. This really showed us that this was a concept that the market was looking for and people were very excited about.” While Roominate is now looking at global expansion, with plans for the Australian and European market, just how well has the message of encouraging girls into engineering translated within the UK? Mamta Singhal is the EuRoMEA project quality engineer, licensing and promotional, at Mattel, HIT and Fisher-Price. She remembers a time when girls were actively discouraged by their schools from pursuing careers within engineering. Today, the story has altered considerably, but women still only make up between six to eight per cent of the UK engineering workforce. It’s no surprise then, that Singhal is of the opinion that the more of these products in the UK, the better. “There certainly does seem to be more toys coming on to the market that are assisting girls to explore the sciences,” she explains. “I think there a lots of ways that toy companies can start to engage girls with science and engineering, in a fun way.” One such STEM toy brand to make the leap from the US to the UK market is GoldieBlox, distributed nationwide via Interplay. Brainchild of mechanical engineer and toy inventor Debbie Sterling, the GoldieBlox brand is fast becoming a major contender in the US market, charged with the mission statement of “disrupting the pink www.toynews-online.biz

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aisle” with a toy that would ‘introduce girls to the joy of engineering at a young age.’ However, while the UK toy industry wholeheartedly champions the message, with the BTHA offering its “full support for the encouragement of girls to enter STEM related careers,” Interplay notes that product sales are yet to translate on home soil. “For the time being, we find that the STEM toys market – the GoldieBlox range included – is still quite niche,” Ross Ainsworth, managing director of Interplay UK tells ToyNews. “It is definitely becoming more popular among girls and there is a definite market for that, but at the moment it is still quite small over here.” When Ainsworth redeveloped a range called Wild Science for the girls’ market, he reports that sales really took off, crediting the brand’s approach to learning by stealth. “Our golden rule is to never put education on the box,” he continues. “GoldieBlox is a lot more

overt than that, and that’s why I think it is early days for the brand in the UK. “We do champion these toys and believe these kind of steps are the first of many in getting girls into STEM subjects. GoldieBlox has certainly made the bigger toy companies sit up and take notice, and we now have LEGO releasing similar lines.” The wider picture of the STEM toy movement is to encourage both boys and girls’ interest in the sciences, and following the recent changes in the national curriculum, Ainsworth believes the next step in STEM toys is in coding. “We are now looking at these coding types of toys and are working on products that are appbased but have a physical product as well, something like programming a robot,”

he says. “This is definitely something we should be launching at next year’s Toy Fair.” But while the educational toy firm reports slow sales of its STEM lines, on the ground retailers are celebrating a very different outcome. The Cambridge Toy Shop reports that the popularity of its STEM toys range has ‘lifted off over the last year,’ becoming one of the store’s best categories. “It was always good, but it has really come along leaps and bounds,” Vivienne Watson, owner of the Cambridge Toy Shop, tells ToyNews. And encouraged by the increased number of companies selling toys in the STEM category at this year’s London Toy Fair, Watson believes there is more emphasis in the

importance of encouraging children to engage with this field than ever before. Whether or not this is the case, the BTHA’s Natasha Crookes is quick to remind all that for all the recognition STEM toys have picked up in the media of late, it is important to remember the true nature of a toy. “No single toy is ever likely to satisfy all of a child’s play needs and it is important for kids to be offered a range of toys and opportunities to experience a wide variety of play,” she says. “STEM toys have always been important in the toy market and are part of the 70,000 new toys that entered the UK market last year,” she concludes.

April 19

18/03/2015 12:19

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18/03/2015 14:08

INDEPENDENT TOY & GIFT SHOW

Park life

April 14th and 15th will see over 80 suppliers from the toy and children’s gift arena set out their stalls at Cranmore Park for the annual Independent Toy & Gift Show. Samantha Loveday speaks to Miles Penhallow, head of toys and children’s gifts at plaY-room, to get the low down on the show and what we can expect To kick us off, can you give me some background to Independent Toy & Gift? The show in its present format is now in its third year. Previously known as ‘plaY-room at the Park’, a decision was made to rebrand the show in 2012 to better reflect our aims and to make it more inclusive for a variety of retailers. We have a dedicated team of three here at plaY-room, who coordinate and host the show and we are also lucky to have the help of our on-site facilities team, who build the stands and create our wonderful exhibition space. How many exhibitors will you have for 2015? All the stands are completely sold out, so we think that 2015 is going to be even bigger and better than last year. We have over 80 suppliers exhibiting. Which companies will be first timers this year? We have a number exhibiting for the first time including Best Years, Boxer Gifts, Clementoni, Click Distribution, Creative Models, GB eye, Neat Ideas and Orange Tree Toys, T.A.R.E.M.A and Tractor Ted.

The plaY-room team - Charlotte Roberts, Miles Penhallow and Kirsty Haines - believes this year’s show will be even bigger and better than before

Nummie food range and we’ll also be adding some further demonstration tables for exhibitors. What benefits have you seen since expanding the show to also include children’s gift suppliers? PlaY-room are actively promoting children’s gift

Long-term, we would like to be the indie’s show of choice in the toy and children’s gift calendar. Miles Penhallow, plaY-room

Will there be any changes to the 2015 event over last year? A first for this year’s show will be a variety of character appearances, which we believe will add further interest and energy to the show. Character Options will be offering live demonstrations and tastings of its new Yummy www.toynews-online.biz

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to its members in order to offer both a point of difference and an opportunity to enhance their margin mix. The show is the obvious platform for these suppliers to showcase their ranges. With children growing older quicker; we have noticed a growing trend in gift buying for children, of which the gifts are

not necessarily toys and. We wanted to be at the forefront of this change. What kind of feedback have you had from the toy suppliers who exhibit? Suppliers enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and ease of set-up. We attract an eclectic mix of retail buyers and this allows exhibitors to meet buyers they may not usually reach. How about the retailers? Year after year we receive feedback from retailers telling us just how much they enjoy coming to the show. Not only can they see the key suppliers in the toy industry all under one roof, but they enjoy the wonderful facilities we have here at Cranmore Park. Our visitors often comment on the welcoming and relaxed atmosphere at our show, allowing buyers to make informed decisions in a comfortable environment.

If there is an indie who has never attended the show, what would you say to convince them they need to visit this year? If having all the major toy suppliers under the one roof is not convincing enough, then perhaps the fact we make independent buyers who are not members very welcome. We believe that we offer the opportunity to meet a diverse range of suppliers, in a welcoming

environment. Admission, Wi-Fi, parking, lunch and refreshments are all free for pre-registered visitors. What are your aims for the show this year? To continue to grow our attendance, visitor numbers and attract new membership enquiries to plaY-room. In the longterm, we would like to be the independent’s show of choice in the toy and children’s gift calendar.

April 21

17/03/2015 14:15

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23/02/2015 15:41

News Media

Dedicated monthly licensing coverage for the UK

Opinion

Rainbow eyes toy firms for new Royal Academy brand European studio and home of Winx Club aims to ‘conquer girls’ market with the UK being a key focus

By Robert Hutchins ITALIAN ANIMATION studio Rainbow is looking to secure global toy partners for its new girls’ properties, Royal Academy and My American Friend. The firm has revealed that the UK will be a key focus for this year, as it continues its plans to conquer the girls’ market “the same way Marvel has done with the boys.” New content, fashion lines and toys will lead the charge for the studio as it approaches the UK market with its flagship www.toynews-online.biz

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brand, Winx Club as well as its latest girls’ properties, Royal Academy and My American Friend. Royal Academy follows the adventures of Rose Cinderella in a revamped telling of some of the most iconic fairytales. Studying at Royal Academy, Rose soon encounters a cast of classmates, including Hawk Snowwhite, Travis Beast, Pearl Rapunzel and Violet LeFrog. “We have extensive licensing plans lined up for this property and My American Friend,” Valentina La Macchia, head of

licensing at Rainbow, told ToyNews. “Firstly, we want to secure the master toy partner, then we can work on additional categories, and, as with Mia and Winx Club, ensure that these new projects are successful everywhere.” Having secured over 500 partnerships with licensees and retailers across Europe and Asia, Rainbow is now focusing new efforts on cracking the UK, starting with locking down the right UK agent. “We want to work with a company who is committed

to the brand. We don’t just want people turning up with a catalogue to present Winx alongside other properties,” continued La Macchia. “We need to build our brand up in the UK and we are looking for, and

having conversations with, potential UK partners.” Head of sales and co-production, Andrea Graciotti, said: “We want Rainbow to be for girls what Marvel is for boys. The UK is a big part of that.” Rainbow: +39 0717506 7500

April 23

18/03/2015 14:17

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NEWS

Paw Patrol is already Spin HTI glams up Master’s number one brand with Frozen “We’re seeing that people are trying to collect the whole range of pups, so the collectables are selling extremely well” By Billy Langsworthy DESPITE THE toys only having landed on shelves a few months ago, Paw Patrol is already Spin Master’s number one brand. The firm has seen Paw Patrol take off in the collectables market, and Spin Master is expanding its toy offering for the preschool brand later this year with new play-sets, bath toys and games. “Paw Patrol is definitely on a roll,” Emma Eden, marketing manager at Spin Master, told ToyNews. “It’s only been a couple of months since toys hit the shelves and Paw Patrol is already Spin Master’s number one brand. Paw Patrol is the top new pre-school property in the market (NPD EPoS Value (£) YTD Feb 2015) and is gaining momentum every week.

“We’re seeing that people are trying to collect the whole range of pups, so the collectables are selling extremely well. “Our Racers line has been a runaway success as it offers great value with a pup moulded in its signature vehicle. The Action Pack Pups, which give true to the show transformation of the pups backpacks, and Basic Vehicles are also proving popular.” Spin Master believes Paw Patrol is on track to exceed sales estimations and already has plans in place make it an iconic pre-school property. “With great programming in place and fantastic sales success in other parts of the world, we always expected Paw Patrol to make a big impact from launch,” added Eden. “That said, based on its performance so far we have to believe that

sales for 2015 will exceed our expectations. “Distribution is expanding and we have a fantastic range for the second half of the year which includes new play-sets, bath toys and games. We’ve just begun TV advertising the On-A-Roll Vehicles and Lookout Playset and also have a massive campaign planned for the remainder of the year.” Looking further ahead, Spin Master believes the brand will enjoy a great Christmas and beyond thanks to some new character additions in both the second series of the show and the accompanying toy lines. “We have a long-term plan to grow Paw Patrol as a core pre-school property,” Eden told ToyNews. “We have great scheduling on both Nick Jr. and Milkshake. Series two has already begun to air on Nick Jr. and should follow on Milkshake later in the year. That means that we’ll have some lovely new characters coming through in the toy range towards Christmas and into spring 2016. “Without wanting to give too much away we also have some exciting new products on the way for 2016 and beyond.” Spin Master: 01628 535000

Disney’s Frozen Colour Match Snowflake Bag will feature in new roster of TV advertised lines this autumn/winter

By Robert Hutchins HTI HAS big expectations for its Frozen Colour Match Snowflake Bag when it launches to retailers this July. The firm was met with a ‘strong positive response from the trade’ when it released its Barbie Colour Change Glam Bag last year and using the same technology, hopes to mirror its success with the new launch. The Frozen Snowflake Bag will be the second in a roster of TV advertised products this autumn/ winter, as the firm reveals its plans to ramp up its marketing spend for 2015. The My Little Pony Style and Groom set will lead

the charge, followed by Disney’s Frozen Colour Match Snowflake Bag and the Mamas and Papas Armadillo Pushchair. “We have been really pleased with the response to the Barbie Glam Bag and the innovation around the Colour Match technology, hence bringing it together with the extremely popular Frozen licence, so we are really excited to see what that’s going to do this year,” Jenny Watson, global marketing director at HTI told ToyNews. “We have big expectations for this line and the reason we are advertising that one is to make sure it stands out from the crowd.” HTI: 01253 778 888

Licences remain key to games and puzzles market Winning Moves and Jumbo Games have both been boosted by major franchises like Marvel and Star Wars By Billy Langsworthy LICENSING IS key to the continued growth of the games and puzzles sector, claim Winning Moves and Jumbo Games. Between them, the firms boast licences including Minions, Frozen, Star Wars and Marvel, a factor both believe helps them to thrive within the games and puzzles space. “I don’t think games and puzzles will ever go www.toynews-online.biz

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out of fashion, but they are changing with the times more now than ever before,” said Suzie Howes, head of marketing at Winning Moves. “Winning Moves is in the lucky position where we have classic games that can be successfully adapted to modern properties ranging from Minions or Frozen all the way to Marvel or Star Wars. It means that we

can offer the games that people want with the right characters on them for any stage of their lives.” Gray Richmond, MD of Jumbo Games, added: “Licences are a really key factor and continue to dominate the industry agenda. Much of the growth of the UK market in 2014 can be attributed to such licences as they keep consumers engaged and wanting to return year on year.

“I also believe that the tradition of games and puzzles make them a household classic for every generation. “Whilst the tech world is growing at an incredible rate its fast paced nature sees some products become redundant quite quickly, but puzzles don’t have this

attachment and stand the test of time.” Winning Moves: 020 7298 9500 Jumbo: 01707 289289

April 25

18/03/2015 16:41

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www.rubiesuk.com 16/03/2015 10:46

CBEEBIES LAND

The Promised Land

This year is expected to see the one millionth visitor to CBeebies Land at Alton Towers Resorts since it opened in May 2014. Samantha Loveday discovers how BBC Worldwide is making the most of this area of growth potential for its key pre-school brands

“WE’RE CONSTANTLY looking at ways of directly engaging with our audience, as well as extending fans’ enjoyment of their favourite shows and an attraction felt like a good fit,” explains Mat Way, commercial director at BBC Worldwide, about the opening of CBeebies Land at Alton Towers Resorts. Officially opened in May 2014, the attraction (which was brought to life by Merlin) has proved immensely popular with pre-schoolers and their parents. The site currently extends across four acres and will this year welcome its one millionth visitor. Each area has been carefully designed for some of the channel’s biggest brands including Something Special, In the Night Garden, Tree Fu Tom and Mr Bloom’s Nursery. The latest attraction to open is the Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure, which welcomes little thrill www.toynews-online.biz

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seekers on board a convoy of GUPs for a rescue mission with some of their favourite characters. “We wanted to create somewhere to bring the magical world of Cbeebies to life,” Way tells ToyNews. “We’ve been producing a very successful touring arena show for CBeebies so we knew there’s an established appetite for fans to engage with the brand in this way.” Something like this is a big project to take on though, and takes a considerable amount of

time in the planning stages, Way explains. “The feasibility around a project of this nature can sometimes start three to four years ahead of opening. Clearly with the considerable challenges involved in integrating multiple IP and a channel brand meant our initial creative discussion around the proposition commenced very early.” The team were also lucky that CBeebies affords them such fantastic content to work with, and Way admits they were “spoilt for choice”.

“The IP mix needs to reflect the channel, the demographics and the range of emotions we wanted visitors to feel,” said Way. “Clearly there are some IP that present more obvious executions – like Postman Pat because its vehicularbased with iconic scenery – but we also chose IP where we injected more original thought like Charlie and Lola.” As we’ve seen with the likes of Peppa Pig World, The Magical World of Harry Potter and Nickelodeon Land among others, attractions are clearly now

part of major licensors’ thinking on extending the life of a brand even further. “There’s no question that an experience like CBeebies Land will have a lasting impact on children and parents, deepening the engagement with both brands established at CBeebies Land and the channel itself,” Way continues. “For the rest of 2015, we want to achieve continued excellent customer satisfaction scores, a really unique experience for the Christmas period and establish growth plans for the Land.”

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Brands that build the imagination! ÂŠ 2015 Gullane (Thomas) Limited. ÂŠ 2015 HIT Entertainment Limited.

Thomas & Friends 28 TN160.indd 1 Mega Blocks 2015 Ad_AF.indd 1

17/03/2015 18/03/2015 11:22 17:10

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06-03-2015 09:59:28 AM 16/03/2015 10:58

th Anniversary

Celebrating 20 years, Le Toy Van is delighted to launch a fresh new collection of 7 wooden toys for little ones. Petilou速 range is made of solid wood and safety tested for 12months + Discover the whole range at www.letoyvan.com

th Anniversary 1995

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th Anniversary

11/03/2015 15:37

th Anniversary

Coiledspring Games

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Think...Fun... engaging preschool games from ThinkFun!

Roll & Play

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Robot Turtles

From 18 months onwards www.coiledspring.co.uk Call 020 3301 1160 for more information

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17/03/2015 15:25

SECTOR GUIDE: PRE-SCHOOL

Early adopters One of the most lucrative – and competitive – sectors of the toy industry, the infant and pre-school space is bursting at the seams with new lines, licences and innovation this year. Samantha Loveday takes a look at just some of the latest products which could make retailers a small fortune LITTLE TIKES Little Tikes is launching two new infant pre-school ranges – with both Lil’ Ocean Explorers and Sparkle Bay designed to engage with little ones and encourage imaginative play and development. Arriving in the autumn, the Lil’ Ocean Explorers range aims to celebrate active play at every primary milestone during a baby’s first 18 months. The line will help parents to encourage and reward each reach, crawl and step. It will be supported with a heavyweight media campaign including significant TV support. There are nine key toys in the range, kicking off with 3-in-1 Adventure Course (£69.99) aimed at six months to 36 months. The product stimulates and entertains baby

throughout key developmental milestones such as sitting, crawling and standing, with features including over 20 sounds, stretchy spandex, soft drum wall, peek-a-boo mirror and crawl through tunnel. The Stand n’ Dance Starfish (£29.99, nine to 36 months) has two modes of play and encourages baby to create music and dance along, while Dunk n’ Juggle Seal (£19.99, six to 36 months) plays five songs and sounds as it claps the child’s attempts to get the balls in the basket. Two products help to encourage crawling – Ball n’ Crawl Octopus (£14.99, six to 36 months) and Catch Me Crabbie (£14.99, nine to

36 months) – while Crawl n’ Pop Turtle (£16.99, six to 36 months) helps the child learn about shapes and colours. Pull n’ Chatter Lobster (£9.99) and Push n’ Glow Fish (£8.99) make up the line.

from the noises they make to the foods that they produce. It combines perfectly with My First Tractor (£9.99). Parents can introduce daily routines to their toddler with My First Playhouse (£14.99), helping the two DUPLO figures get up in the morning, eat breakfast, brush their teeth and have fun on the slide before lying down in the beds for a good night’s sleep. Featuring a range of ageappropriate, manageable builds and strong play starters, the DUPLO Town collection allows children aged two to five years to create stories inspired by easily recognisable, classic pre-school themes, imitating everyday life and learning through pretend play. Two new iconic vehicle based sets bring newness

to the portfolio. Little speedsters can get behind the wheel of the Rally Car (£12.99), while toddlers can excited about the family holiday with the Airport (£16.99). Also new to the range are the Ice Cream Truck (£12.99); DUPLO Café (£17.99) and Mum and Baby at a great entry price point of £8.99. DUPLO has also further added to its Disney Princess range with the introduction of two new sets featuring Sofia the First. 01753 495000

with Little Tikes saying it is the only line of bath and water toys that magically light up. Aimed at 18 months to three years, skus include Flicker Fish – which are

available in four different characters – Splash Fountain, Octo Hoops and Water Spinners. 01908 268480

Moving on, and the Sparkle Bay bath range will arrive in the autumn with four skus. The new line will provide active and engaging light up bath play,

LEGO DUPLO Pre-schoolers can learn, play and build with ten new LEGO DUPLO sets for first half of 2015. The My First range offers toddlers, aged 18 months to five years, the perfect introduction to basic construction making the sets ideal for early recruitment. The easy to build starter sets provide playful and teachable moments for parent and toddler. The bigger bricks and sturdy models are simple to stack and mum or dad can use the special decorated bricks as talking points while setting the scene for learning and role-play. Budding farmers can learn all about life on the farm with My First Farm (£14.99), featuring a feeding trough, range of animal figures and decorated bricks to teach toddlers about farm animals www.toynews-online.biz

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SECTOR GUIDE: PRE-SCHOOL CHARACTER OPTIONS July will see the eagerly awaited introduction of the Clangers toy collection, which will sit alongside the new TV series produced in the same stop-frame animation as the original of the 1970’s. Demand for the Clangers is set to be high and Character’s toy collection will not disappoint with scaled play-sets that will echo scenes and features from the show such as Small and his Soup Trolley, Major Clanger, Small and the Musical Boat and a spectacular Home Planet Play-set.

Also set to make an impact in the range will be a collection of six-inch plush figures of all the characters including Small the curious Clanger and Tiny the musical maestro. In addition, there will be whistling plush characters of Tiny and Small that will emit the melodious Clangers sound that everyone knows and loves. Peppa Pig and Character Options may have made a great start to the year with the stunning Holiday theme, but the second half will be the stuff of fairy-

tales with the Once Upon a Time collection. The new range will see figure packs of Peppa and her friends come donned in fancy dress, such as Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. New play-sets have been given a magical touch such as Coachman George with a Pumpkin Carriage, and a Story Time Tea Party play-set. For little brother George, there’s a new adventure with his Dragon Flyer that has a light up flame and makes dragon noises as he is flown through the

VIVID Vivid’s pre-school line-up kicks off with My Friend Freddy Bear (£39.99). Adults can download the free app and type in information about their child – meaning pre-schoolers will be amazed that their bear knows all about them. Inapp activities have varying levels of difficulty to keep little ones entertained. When not connected to a smart device Freddy Bear will talk when he’s cuddled, tipped upside down or thrown in the air. Story-Telling Peter Rabbit (£21.99) joins Vivid’s master toy range from autumn. Open Peter’s journal, the pictures will illuminate and he will start to tell a story. There are hundreds of adventures to listen to. The journal is detachable and there’s an auto shut-off function which makes this 34 April

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air with George on board. And the semi-translucent Peppa’s Enchanting will be the must-have for fans. The icing on the cake is Ring-aRoses Peppa, a sensational new interactive plush toy that really plays ring-a-roses with you and all your friends. Hold her hand and make a ring and when the circuit is complete the singing will begin for all to enjoy. Also in the Peppa Pig portfolio, the Weebles Collection continues to delight the youngest of fans. The fun figures that may wobble but will never fall down are available as

Peppa and all her friends and family will be refreshed for autumn. They make the perfect addition to the play-sets such as the Wing and Wobble Playground and vehicles available. Character also extended its Weebles collection with Weebledown Farm. Opening sales have proved Weebledown already to be a firm favourite for children and parents as they collect and build a farmyard full of familiar animals for Farmer Barleymow and his Wobbily Farm Mill and Barn Play-set. Also in pre-school, the firm has a new die-cast vehicle range for Fireman Sam and fresh play-sets and accessories for Ben & Holly. 0161 633 9800

HASBRO item an ideal companion for bedtime cuddles. My First Crayola is Crayola’s range of nontoxic products for 12 to 36 months including markers, pencils, crayons and paints. The drawing tools are designed to allow kids to spend less time figuring out how to hold them and more time creating. The Doodle Magic Colouring Mat (£19.99) allows children to magically swipe away their creations. Also included in the range is the Travel Pack

(£12.99) and the Colouring Book (£6.99). 01483 449944

Hasbro is rolling out a number of products based on The Furchester Hotel this year. Joining the Playskool brand, The Furchester Hotel is the latest series from Sesame Street and CBeebies. The Single Figure assortment is aimed at ages 18 months and up and includes Elmo, Cookie Monster, Phoebe, Furgus and Funella figures. Meanwhile, The Furchester Hotel Micro Plush assortment are nine-inches tall, featuring Elmo, Cookie Monster and Phoebe. Moving on, and the Let’s Cuddle assortment is aimed at ages 12 months and up. The 11-inch plush figures are available in Elmo, Cookie Monster, Phoebe, Furgus and Funella. If you’re after something slightly bigger to cuddle,

then the 20-inch plush assortment has a choice of three different characters for children aged 18 months and above. Finally, The Furchester Hotel Isabel Plush is aimed at ages 18 months to four years. When hotel guests arrive, kids can tap on Isabel’s head to hear a loud ding, just like in the show. 020 8569 1234

www.toynews-online.biz

18/03/2015 16:24

Lil’ Ocean Explorers™ Infant preschool toys encourage and celebrate active gross motor play at every primary physical milestone during a baby’s first 18 months. Our brand new range will help parents to encourage and reward each reach, crawl and step.

15+ ways to play

More than

rewarding sounds and tunes

Our NEW range for Autumn 2015

Heavyweight media campaign including TV

exciting toys in the range

Imaginations In Motion™ Call us: 0845 0533 333 www.littletikes.co.uk

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Email us: Little.Tikes@zapf-creation.co.uk MGA Entertainment UK Ltd, 50 Presley Way, Crownhill, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ES

16/03/2015 10:38

SECTOR GUIDE: PRE-SCHOOL

The Price is right

Number one in infant and pre-school, busy Fisher-Price is unveiling a new ‘Little Discoveries’ marketing initiative, while also expanding with the addition of Mega Bloks’ pre-school construction line. Samantha Loveday speaks to Wendy Hill, director of brand activation at Mattel UK, before taking a look at the product candid and genuine way. We know today’s parents are digitally savvy so alongside our more traditional product led TV advertising, our extensive marketing campaign includes an integrated digital approach including an industry first in the parenting market.

What does the Discover Your Way brand have in store for 2015? We are continuing to champion natural discovery and child-led play as the pressures from modern society on millennial parents remain. The evolution of the brand campaign begins with Little Discoveries as we build that connection with parents and speak to them in a

Can you tell us about your key product launches? Innovation continues to lead the way in Fisher-Price product development with the expansion of our Laugh & Learn range featuring Smart Stages technology. These toys offer a never seen before, innovative way for children to discover the world at their own pace, as the toy’s content adjusts to a child’s level of development. Smart Stages adds a unique proposition

to our infant toys and we are launching a number of products including a new ride-on toy. We are very excited about the launch of Dance & Move BeatBo, with hours of learning, musical content and voice recording abilities. Can you give more details on the MEGA Bloks First Builders line? As MEGA Bloks celebrates 30 years in construction play and with the junior construction market up 8.3 per cent YTD (source: NPD February 2015 YTD) this year, we are excited to be endorsing the popular First Builders range. MEGA Bloks pre-school construction sets have the values and attributes that parents look for in the trusted Fisher-

Price brand and this new endorsement is a natural fit to help parents find the best toys to enhance their pre-schoolers’ early development skills. Can we expect big things from Fisher-Price Thomas & Friends in his 70th anniversary year? Our Fisher-Price Thomas & Friends ranges have seen significant growth, up 17 per cent YTD (source: NPD

FISHER-PRICE The launch of ‘Little Discoveries’ leads the evolution of the FisherPrice brand campaign ‘Discover Your Way’ which was introduced in 2014 in response to modern society making parents feel like their baby is in a learning race. The campaign champions child-led play and learning through

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January 2015 YTD) and we are expecting big things from our new lines. The TrackMaster Shipwreck Rails play-set, based on the upcoming DVD Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure, sees Thomas turn upside down on a spiraling track. Meanwhile, for our young Thomas fans we introduce brand new My First lines, including Rail Rollers and a new preschool shape sorter.

MEGA BLOKS discovery, helping children develop at their own pace. The campaign includes partnerships with leading parenting sites, boosting the real mum ambassador programme and social media campaigns to enhance parent communication. Fisher-Price builds its Laugh & Learn range with the launch of the Smart Stages Puppy and Puppy’s Sis in spring/summer, followed by the new ride-on Smart Stages Scooter, the Learning Toolbench, Teaching Tote, Counting Colours Clock, Tea Set, Monkey’s Firehouse and Activity Zoo. Fisher-Price also introduces the futuristic friend for pre-schoolers Dance & Move BeatBo, a character featuring three modes of play including voice recording abilities, while the Little People Skyway continues to delight pre-schoolers with hours of imaginative play. It’s full steam ahead for Thomas & Friends in his 70th anniversary year with

product launches across the entire Fisher-Price Thomas & Friends portfolio. Thomas and his friends become ‘rollers’ with the My First Rail Rollers Spiral Station, while Remote Control Thomas remains a key focus in the popular My First collection. The Taken-Play range welcomes the Daring Dragon Drop with zip line action, while the hero item for TrackMaster is the Shipwreck Rails play-set based on the feature length special Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure to be released this autumn. Imaginext sees the launch of the new Power Rangers line including key play-set the Power Rangers Morphing Megazord. A new transforming Batcave will lead the DC Super Friends offering, while all play-sets will feature Imaginext’s turn disc technology. This autumn, Fisher-Price launches its Bing Bunny toy range, starring characters and scenes from the show. The line includes interactive My Friend Bing, plus a series

of figures, vehicles, playsets and bath toys. A new Dora & Friends range will include a new Dora Doll and Dora and Perrito, alongside cute accessories including Dora’s Smartphone and Magic Charms Bracelet. Captain Jake continues the adventures towards the end of the year with a new Fisher-Price toy range to support the new series. The Mighty Colossus will be the must-have product for Jake fans featuring four levels of play. FisherPrice’s Octonauts range grows with the Speeders playset for the mini Gup speeders, while the arctic theme remains strong with the launch of the new Gup I, as well as the launch of Gup Y and Talking Gup E play-sets.

MEGA Bloks becomes part of the Mattel family with a strong pre-school line now endorsed by Fisher-Price. Offering young builders hours of play, perfect for early development skills and endless fun, the popular First Builders range continues to grow. Favourites including the Big Building Bag and Build ’n Learn Table are complemented by the vehicle offering including the Push ‘n Pull Block Picker new for autumn/ winter, while the playsets inspire imaginations with engaging new themes. Innovation leads the way in the MEGA Bloks Thomas & Friends collection with the launch of the new Zooming Along at Brendam Docks play-set featuring a buildable and motorised Thomas the Tank engine. 01628 500000 www.toynews-online.biz

18/03/2015 16:53

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16/03/2015 10:40

SECTOR GUIDE: PRE-SCHOOL VTECH VTech’s pre-school category is set to have a strong year with a number of new product launches. VTech’s Toot-Toot range is a firm favourite with consumers since the launch of Toot-Toot Drivers in 2011 and was recently awarded the Toy Industry Pre-School Range of the Year Award at London Toy Fair. VTech continues to innovate the range with the introduction of new products, characters and play-sets. VTech has continued to grow its Toot-Toot Drivers range: now offering a Police Station, Fire Station, Construction Site and Train Station along with a huge selection of vehicles. Perfect for little hands, the Toot-Toot Driver vehicles include different phrases,

cheerful melodies, singalong songs and sound effects. This year VTech will be developing the range further with an enhanced Toot-Toot Drivers Garage. VTech will also be introducing further characters and play-sets to its Toot-Toot animals range this year. Toot-Toot animals include different expressions, animal and nature sound effects, as well as the same SmartPoint technology as Toot-Toot Drivers. The range will be joined by five new additions: a Sheep, Pig, Donkey, Cow and Horse, as well as some cute mummy and baby sets. The farm inspired animals will also be joined by new interactive play-sets such as a Chicken Coop in spring/

summer and a Toot-Toot Animal Farm later in the year. The firm will also be adding to its Toot-Toot range further with the launch of its brand new Toot-Toot Friends, an interactive group of friends developed especially for little ones. Each character will respond individually to its location and each other, as they all have built-in fun phrases and songs. Toot Toot Friends launch in autumn/winter and will come with a number of interactive play-sets and accessories, including the Toot-Toot Friends Busy Sounds Discovery Home. The Toot-Toot Friends Busy Sounds Discovery Home comes with seven

COILEDSPRING GAMES The ThinkFun range of products give pre-school children an opportunity to engage with toys educationally as well as having fun, providing games that help children develop

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automatically. The Toot-Toot Discover House encourages fine motor skills development, as well as first words and early vocabulary too. 01235 555545

LEARNING RESOURCES valuable social and cognitive skills from an early age. Designed to inspire actions, creativity, laughter and learning, Roll & Play and Move & Groove are both games designed specifically for toddlers, introducing them to gameplay and the joy of movement without any competitive pressure. Similarly, Hello Sunshine combines fun with a game of Hide and Seek, while teaching children positional prepositions such as in, on top, below, next to, and others. Zingo 123 has two levels of play,

so it progresses as the child becomes more advanced with numbers. Moving on, and Robot Turtles is a bright and fun game with a sneaky way of teaching pre-schoolers the basics of computer programming, and with recent changes to the national curriculum requiring primary schools to teach computer programming, this family game supports learning in a fun environment. ThinkFun’s games are perfect for supporting preschool learning. 020 3301 1160

Connect the fruit and connect your family with Fruitominoes. Perfect for little hands, the game has been recognised by the Dads’ Choice Awards, Primary Teacher Update Awards, Loved By Parents Awards and the Good Toy Guide. PAIRSinPEARS contains a range of games that adapts as your family grows up. It is packed with eight engaging, educational activities for children of varying ages, plus two competitive word games for more advanced players.

PAIRSinPEARS comes with ten games in total, and has won numerous accolades. 020 7298 9500

BANANAGRAMS Bananagrams offers two award-winning games for pre-schoolers – Fruitominoes and PAIRSinPEARS. Fruitominoes takes classic dominoes and gives them a fresh, fruity twist. Deliciously colourful images of fruit instead of dots means the timetested game now appeals to children too, and it even works for kids that are too young to count. Fruitominoes are beautifully crafted and come in a portable fabric pouch that goes just about anywhere you go.

MagicPoint locations throughout the garden and house. When you place any of your Toot-Toot Friends on these specific points you can illuminate the house lights, turn on the fireplace and make the builtin lift move up and down

The GeoSafari Jr Science Utility Vehicle is designed to tackle even the toughest of tracks, turning an everyday drive into an eye-opening educational adventure. The colourful magnifying truck can manoeuvre through terrain such as carpet, grass and soil to take little explorers on a journey filled with hands-on fun. It features a 3x magnifier, focus adjustment and red and white LED lights for day or night time discoveries. Meanwhile, children can learn about the world around them with the Pretend & Play International School Set. The set comes stocked with authentic props including a world

map, bell, hand pointer, clock with adjustable hands, wipe clean chalk board and a variety of worksheets to brush up on alphabet, number and flag recognition skills. Finally, the New Sprouts Fresh Fruit Salad Set aims to promote healthy eating habits along with imaginative play. Children can prepare a realistic feast of fruits including pineapple rings, berry clusters, strawberries, kiwi and orange slices. The firm also says that the 18-piece fruit salad is an ideal way to encourage early vocabulary, language and social skills. It is suitable for ages two and up. 01553 819330

www.toynews-online.biz

18/03/2015 16:16

SECTOR GUIDE: PRE-SCHOOL MGA ENTERTAINMENT MGA Entertainment’s pre-school offering is destined to be a continued success with little ones in 2015 with its Lalaloopsy Babies range. The Lalaloopsy Babies dolls see original Lalaloopsy characters in their baby form with soft huggable bodies. The dolls are accompanied by a bottle shaped like their pet, as well as a pacifier and a hat that matches their personality. Each character also has a specific pattern all over their soft body which reflects the material they were sewn from. The spring launch includes Scoops Waffle Cone, Spot Splatter Splash, Tippy Tumblelina and Bea Spells A Lot. The dolls come in bassinet style open packaging, are priced at £14.99 and are suitable for ages four onwards. The range will be heavily supported through marketing, PR and social media. 0845 0533 333

Possibly the best in wooden toys (and plastic)! stic)!

DKL Miniland’s pre-school range, The Educational Corner, continues to grow in popularity with its strong selection of educational sets ideal for learning at home. A bestselling set from the Educational Corner is the Activity Timer set, which helps children to learn to tell the time in relation to day-to-day life at home. Also, don’t miss the award winning Activity Buttons which incorporates Braille. All Educational Corner toys have great price points and there is an FSDU available. Elsewhere in the Miniland Educational range is the brand new Marbulous, a sturdy and durable plastic marble run. Marbulous includes 38 pieces, all in primary colours, and 38 marbles for hours of fun. Hama Beads are the number one selling bead brand and the range of Maxi beads are great for little hands aged three years onwards. New for this year is the Maxi Food set which comes in a transparent tub. Other pre-school lines from Hama include the Maxi gift boxes in the theme of Butterfly and Parrot. Wonderworld has a unique range of ecofriendly wooden toys, all beautifully finished and available in fun designs.

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The bestselling Rainbow Sound Blocks continues to be a popular choice – the assortment of different shapes, sounds and colours will entertain children and contribute to their sensory development. New for 2015 are fun additions to the Wonderworld Young Mini Vehicles range. Build-a-Loader, Dog Police Car, Chicky Plane and Moo Moo Tractor are fun themed vehicles which children will love playing with. Finally, Babicorolle and Mon Premier ranges from Corolle offer the perfect first doll for little girls of pre-school age. Lili Fresh Riviera & Activities is a soft ragdoll designed in brand new Corolle patterns and colours. The ragdoll is the perfect companion for pre-school children, and the different sounds and textures incorporated in the doll will help to develop the senses. 01604 678780

01604 774949 sales@john-crane.co.uk www.john-crane.co.uk 18/03/2015 16:27

SECTOR GUIDE: PRE-SCHOOL FLAIR Doc McStuffins, Thomas and Friends and some heroic Junior Turtles have come together to make a strong portfolio of pre-school playthings for GP Flair. Building on its success with Disney’s Doc McStuffins, Flair has launched a School of Medicine themed range to tie in with the new TV episodes. Dottie’s Eye Doctor Bag (£19.99) allows children to complete their eye doctor rounds with everything needed to make patients see clearly. In addition, there are two new large Doc dolls - Dentist Doc and Eye Doctor Doc (£29.99,) continuing the interactive fun. A fun new addition is the new Light-Up Doctor Shoes (£14.99). Dottie turns her attention to healing toy animals in

autumn with the new Doc McStuffins Pet Vet series. Dottie will don her paw print scrubs and introduce new pet toys to the patient list. A hero product of the range will be the new Pet Vet Doc McStuffins Doll (£39.99), while Findo the animatronic puppy and Stuffy the Dragon’s furry pet (a remote-controlled fluff ball called Squibbles) are among the patient list. For her vet duties, there will be new accessories such as the Vet Bag Playset (£22.99) and the Pet Vet Book of Boo Boos (£7.99.) Finally the new Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Desk (£49.99) will allow children to create their own Pet Vet clinic at home making sure all their own cuddly toy animals are kept fit and healthy.

Thomas and Friends has made a welcome return to the Flair portfolio with a collection of wooden games. Included in the range are the Wooden Dominoes and Track Puzzle (£12.99) Sorting Box (£9.99) Tic-Tac-Toe (£9.99) and the Wooden Clock Game (£14.99) with 12 double side self-correcting puzzle pieces, two jumbo time dice and a clock stand. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have also entered the pre-school scene with the successful launch of the Half-Shell Heroes. The brand new collection will introduce a younger audience of two to four year olds to Ninja fun. With cuter pre-school styling, malleable materials and softened weapons, the collection will house a

POSH PAWS Disney’s Doc McStuffins continues to be an incredibly popular line for Posh Paws. The ongoing success of the pre-school property is set to remain for some time and with new TV episodes releasing on Disney Junior throughout 2015, Posh

action features and multiple sounds and phrases. Finally for tots who are also budding racing drivers, 2015 will see Flair introduce pre-schoolers to one of the most

variety of key category lines, including twin pack figures, talking figures, vehicle and figure packs, deluxe vehicles and an Electronic Shellraiser. The hero items in the range will be the Super Sewer HQ and the Mega Mutant Leo, packed with fun ninja

prestigious car brands in the world, Ferrari. Ferrari Play and Go is a range of chunky pre-school vehicles, play-sets and RC toys that will be available from July and supported by TV to build brand awareness. 020 8643 0320

JOHN ADAMS Paws is excited to be launching a host of new designs for the show’s avid and ever-growing fans. The collection includes a new Doc McStuffins Stylised Range which features the show’s most popular characters, with accentuated features and

a floppy feel, the perfect plush for kids aged two to six. The Stylised Doc Collection will be available from April. Joining the line-up is the new Doc McStuffins Pet Vet range which will be on shelf this autumn to coincide with the Pet Vet TV series launch. As Doc embarks on a new career as a veterinary nurse in the hit Disney channel show, Doc and Lambie get a brand new look and will be joined by a host of fresh pet friends. These include Findo the dog, Whispers the Cat and a remote control toy called Squibbles. Other favourite preschool plush properties available from Posh Paws include Palace, Pets Disney Princesses, Sofia the First, Frozen, Planes, Marvel Superheroes and Toy Story. 01268 567290

John Adams will be sailing into new waters in 2015 with a brand new range of pre-school toys for Pip Ahoy. Pip’s Lighthouse Playset will be one of the hero products from the range, offering lots of play value for pre-schoolers. Boasting a plethora of features to encourage imaginative play, including lift, rotating binoculars, kitchen accessories and Pip figure. The Lighthouse Play-set also includes the Rubber Duck Boat which can be launched by pressing down on the life ring stand. Mr Morris’ Bubble Train Vehicle features fully articulated carriages and seats that bob up and down as the train rolls along and chimney spout with bubble effects. Measuring 40cm long, the Bubble Train

includes Mr Morris figure and plug on points for the other characters. The portfolio will also include a 12-inch Talking Pip Plush character which plays eight recognisable phrases from the show and a selection of articulated mini figures. 01480 414361

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4 3 4 4 4 0 18/03/2015 16:20

IT’S DUGGEE TIME!

The new animated pre-school series on CBeebies Promotes fun, exercise, fun, learning and fun!

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Duggee H

Launched January 2015 on CBeebies Broadcast through 2015 #1 in its timeslot for children 0-6* *Source : BARB 12 Jan-27 Feb 2015

Surprise!

Press to hear fun phrases and theme tune!

lu C Squirrel t se Play

Includes feature badges!

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Squirrel

adges

We are ﬁnished!

Woof Woof!

Includes 2 feature badges!

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HEY DUGGEE (word mark and character logos) are trade marks of Studio AKA Limited and are used under licence. HEY DUGGEE logo © Studio AKA Limited (2014). Licensed by BBC Worldwide Limited. BBC is a trade mark of the British Broadcasting Corporation and is used under licence. BBC logo © BBC 1996.

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SECTOR GUIDE: PRE-SCHOOL JOHN CRANE John Crane has expanded its already extensive collection of pre-school toys for 2015 in a number of different brands. Tidlo has added a number of new lines including the General Hospital. The new 30-piece set features everything you need

to nurse your favourite character back to health; including an air ambulance, road ambulance, ward beds, surgery lights and tables, MRI scanner, an X-Ray machine and more. There are no lengthy waiting times at this hospital with its doctors, nurses, paramedic and pilot on call ready to deal with any emergency and to take care of the patients.

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of the silliest sounds, or simply play your favourite nursery songs. The soft, fold away floor mat comes with four great ways to play with endless combinations. For those budding artists, Easel Does it by B allows kids to scribble, paint or draw their teddy (tell

him to hold still until the picture is ready). The classic construction, natural wood, beautifully B designed Easel has two roomy storage bins which will hold everything, except imagination. There are no mistakes, just rough drafts. 01604 774949

figures to slide down and they all include a themed activity sheet. The Birthday Countdown Calendar is collected over ten days, and includes girl and boy figures, a party entertainer and pet rabbit assistant, a push-along party ice-cream trike and a spinning, shapesorting party table with party food and presents. The Holiday Countdown Calendar features bath toys including swimmer girl and boy figures, a jet-ski and detachable ring and a working, spring diving board. There are also two cute floating sea animals, a baby turtle and friendly dolphin and two marine fish bath scoops, a smiley stingray and cheeky clown fish. The Pre-School Countdown Calendar is a playground and classroom themed play-set centred

around encouraging and building up the excitement for the first day at preschool or nursery. Girl and boy figures can race along on their speedy scooters, play on slides and seesaws and learn to tell the time clock while sitting at their classroom table. Finally, Special Day Countdown Calendar allows children to countdown to any Special Day or event with Space, Superhero and Save the Universe adventures. Each calendar window reveals girl and boy superhero figures, a sonic, space motorbike, friendly aliens and spinner planets. 020 7471 0980

WOW TOYS

RE:CREATION Re:creation delivers innovative fun for preschoolers this year with introductions from trailblazing scooter and ride-on brand, Razor, and new and exciting plush to come under the company’s Snuggables umbrella. 2014 saw the launch of the Stretchkins plush range, with the brand revealed by NPD as the best new non-licensed plush brand in 2014. The range of stretchy limbed friends will benefit from the addition of new characters Pink Cat and Purple Pony in 2015. Purple Pony will be a character refresh to the existing line-up of four Stretchkins, while the new Pink Cat plush builds on the product concept with the introduction of LED lights on the feet, adding a new level of play to this innovative plush range. Necknapperz, meanwhile, look to offer a lovable solution to travelling with tots. The assortment of four soft animal characters transform in moments from huggable friend to super practical and comfy neck pillow that are ideal for home or on the go.

Also new in Tidlo is the colourful Garage, which has everything your little one needs to get from A to B. The wind-up clicky lift takes you up to the car park, where you can park while on your pretend shopping trip. Open the parking barrier and whizz down the ramps on the way home, but don’t forget to clean your car and fill it up with petrol. Don’t worry if you did though, because the breakdown lorry will be happy to help you back to the pumps. New in B for energetic children, Mat-a-matics, boasts several features to keep children fit and active while having fun. Watch the musical note glow as you step in time to the music, bounce around making crazy combinations

Re:creation will support all Snuggables lines with heavyweight TV, PR and online marketing. Last year it was hard to miss the unstoppable Razor Crazy Cart in the press. This year by popular demand pre-schoolers are getting in on the drifting action too with the introduction of the Lil’ Crazy to the Razor Junior fold. With the innovation and funky styling expected of the brand, the electric ride-on can travel up to two mph and has been designed to give children of three and up a gentle and fun ride including drifts, spins and turns. Also from Razor Junior, a pre-school take on the Pocket Mod electric ride-on. Available in funky pink or green, the Mini Mod, a moped themed tot ride-on, can reach speeds of up to two mph and is perfect for kids with a passion for fashion. 0118 973 6222

WOW’s toy filled Countdown Calendars are a new toy concept that focus on the arrival of important days in a young child’s life. They are an all year round sales opportunity for retailers with four themes: Birthday, Going on Holiday, Starting Pre-school or Nursery and any Special Day. Each day in the Countdown is designed to gently steer a child towards their big day, building their excitement and helping them to understand the passage of passing time in the process. The calendars can be personalised and each numbered calendar window contains a surprise toy that when collected over ten days, creates a themed play-set that can be played with long after their special day has passed. Each calendar also has an in-built slide for the

THE PUPPET COMPANY Following on from the success of the firm’s My First Puppet range, The Puppet Company is now launching a collection of 14 bright and funky coloured glove puppets. Each of the puppets is certificated from birth and is large enough to fit an adult

hand. The puppets are both fun and engaging making them perfect for toddlers and young children alike, according to The Puppet Company. 01462 446040 www.toynews-online.biz

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SECTOR GUIDE: PRE-SCHOOL GOLDEN BEAR Golden Bear has added some new brands to its growing pre-school portfolio Based on the new children’s TV series airing on CBeebies, Golden Bear’s Twirlywoos range will include super soft plush versions of characters Great BigHoo, Toodloo, Chickedy, Chick and Peekaboo. Varying in size, the range will include fun talking soft toys, Peeking Peekaboo, as well as Twirly Top Toodloo – children can watch as Toodloo’s twirly top spins, just like in the show. The new range will also include the Big Red Boat Play-set which comes packed with innovative play features and mimics learning patterns from the show. It also combines electronic

elements and character figures to encourage imaginative play, as well as offering lots of hidden features for little ones to discover. Also airing on CBeebies is the new animated pre-school series, Hey Duggee, which has received an outstanding response from parents. Duggee is a loveable big cuddly dog and leader of a playgroup called The Squirrel Club. He’s joined by a cast of unique animal characters who attend the club, with each episode focusing on a mission to gain a new club badge. Golden Bear’s plush offering will include collectable characters and talking Squirrel Club Soft Toys - each complete with its own child-safe feature badge. Woof Woof Duggee

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the track while playing the Ninky Nonk tune. The Peeka-boo Iggle Piggle promotes ‘cause and effect’ play patterns and encourages character-led learning. The new Activity Table features three key ITNG characters plus a host of interactive features such as stories, songs and imaginative play all packed into a standing base and multi-purpose play table/ storage unit. The removable activity station can also be placed on the floor to accommodate even the youngest of children. The Something Special range has been extended for 2015 to include additional hands-on play items including the Roll and Play Soft Cube complete with 36 activity

cards, as well as the new largersized Talking Mr Tumble Soft Plush and Textured Mr Tumble with Fun Sounds. The new Mr Tumble Sensory Activity Centre is packed with features, mechanical sounds plus articulated Mr Tumble figure for playtime fun. 01952 608308

LE TOY VAN

SAMBRO Sambro has a wide selection of licensed pre-school lines for 2015 across several categories. The company has added to its PlayDoh range with new innovative arts and crafts products for little ones featuring the popular Play-Doh characters. The collection includes backpacks and wheeled bags containing everything a mini Play-Doh fan needs when on the go. A high-quality wooden range of pre-school Fisher Price games and puzzles is also available. Educational as well as engaging, the range features cute and colourful licensed characters. The chunky wooden puzzles are perfect for little hands to hold and will delight little ones, according to the firm. The much-anticipated Paw Patrol range is a musthave for retailers allowing them to complement existing Paw Patrol lines

Soft Toy, with textured fabrics and push-activated badge icons, features the show’s theme tune and key phrases from the series. Pre-schoolers can recreate scenes from the show with the Squirrel Club Play-set which comes complete with Duggee figure and accessories. The Squirrels are also available as individual figurines with feature badge. Building on the runaway 2014 success of the In the Night Garden Ninky Nonk Musical Activity Train, the range has been extended further for 2015. The Ninky Nonk Track and Train Set is perfect for little hands with its start stop button; pre-schoolers can watch the train race around

Carlo’s Gelato is a new line in the firm’s award winning Honeybake collection. The painted wooden Gelato stand includes three ice creams with interchangeable toppings, as well as two sauce bottles and a spoon. Last year saw the Honeybake collection gather a clutch of awards for the Café Drinks Machine, Doctor’s Set and Honeybubbles Washing Machine. This year will see the line bolstered with the addition of the Dotty Kettle, which has been styled to match the Honeybake Tea Set. Meanwhile, the Daisylane Doll’s House collection will welcome the Bunny with character backpacks, wheeled toys and arts and crafts products that will appeal to fans of the popular programme. In addition, Sambro’s range of Disney licensed pre-school products include the likes of Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Minnie Mouse and Frozen. All of these lines span various categories including toys, games, puzzles, wheeled toys, stationery, arts and crafts, pocket money and bags. 0845 873 9380

& Guinea Set. Daisylane is the biggest collection of painted wooden doll’s houses, furniture and accessories in the world, according to Le Toy Van. It includes more than a dozen houses, three collections of furniture and a wide range of accessories. There is a choice of 16 playmats, each illustrated with detailed artwork to stimulate creative and comfortable play. They are themed to match

the wooden toy play-sets to provide a complete play environment across a variety of textures and materials. 020 8979 2036

produced using high quality sustainable woods. Interchangeable Magnetic Wooden Character Puzzles allow children to build pirates and princesses with magnetic wooden shapes, or mix and match to create fun and silly characters of their own design. There are six different characters to build, and with only two pieces each they are really easy for children to make.

1-10 Number Wooden Duo Puzzle is a matching numbers game which is easy to play, with bold colours and large sized numbers to help children learn counting and matching skills. Each tile also features animals to bring more fun to the learning game. Finally, the Goula Domino Oscar at Sea is a 21-piece domino set with shaped wooden bricks that allows kids to create patterns while they match the dominoes. 01707 289289

JUMBO GAMES Goula is known for its beautiful high quality wooden puzzles and games, aiming to bring an educational aspect to children’s playtime. All Goula wooden puzzles and games are

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SECTOR GUIDE: PRE-SCHOOL HTI Consistently a leading preschool supplier to the global market, HTI provides an extensive range of Peppa Pig role-play toys, dolls prams, music and wooden puzzles, as well as bubbles and pocket money toys. HTI is further expanding the Peppa Pig role-play range to include the new Peppa Pig House Kitchen (£79.99). Based on Peppa Pig’s own kitchen from the TV series and standing almost one metre tall, the multi-feature role-play toy immerses pre-schoolers in the world of Peppa Pig. The kitchen includes a fully accessible fridge, cooker, rotating cooker hob/toaster, pan and flipping pancake, lots of cute cooking and food accessories as well as

realistic electronic cooking sounds and the Peppa Pig theme tune. The role-play range also includes two new additional character cases: Super Hero George Case and Peppa’s Bedtime Case. Soar high with Super Hero George’s inventive superhero mask, Projector torch and Mr Dinosaur. Join Peppa Pig for a sleep-over with the Bedtime case that includes a real working lantern, tooth brush, water bottle and hair brush. The new Nurse Peppa Medic Case, meanwhile, contains all the accessories necessary for any mini medical emergency. Peppa Pig music toys include a Sing-along Microphone, Big Band Station and First Piano.

New to the Peppa Pig wooden range are classic toys including a Peppa and friends Train, Family Car, Drum of Bricks and 3D Clock Puzzle. Moving on, and HTI extends its range of Doc McStuffins wheeled toys with the colourful new Balance Bike. With adjustable handle bars and seat height, the training bike is great for balance and confidence building. HTI also launches a new Doc McStuffins Junior Pram to its range of nurturing doll’s prams and pushchairs. Additionally the preschool wheeled range includes popular brands such as Sofia the First, Disney Fairies, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Minnie Mouse

HIPPYCHICK Hippychick is introducing a new range of Boikido wooden toys. The collection of French-designed toys are of a superior quality, are reliable and long lasting. Soft to touch with a high quality finish, BoiKido toys are set to become an integral part of a child’s room and the family home, according to Hippychick. There are lots of interactive toys to choose from including educational number and word games,

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Offering a range of high quality bubble solutions and bubble toys, HTI’s in-house Double Bubble brand offers solution bottles, a wand, fun free-wheeling bubble truck, a bubble mower and bubble machines across multiple price points. 01253 778888

TOBAR funky themed puzzles, building blocks, musical toys and walker/ride ons. Each one is brightly coloured in fun and interesting designs, helping to hold a child’s attention for substantial periods of time. Boikido joins a comprehensive wooden toy

collection from Hippychick which includes the Moover range and the Wheelybug ride-ons. 01278 434440

HALILIT Celebrating 50 years of business in 2015, Halilit continues to add to the brands of pre-school toys which it distributes exclusively in the UK and Ireland. The firm was thrilled by the amazing reaction to the Battat range of bath,

and Something Special, as well as doll’s pram ranges with Sofia the First and Minnie Mouse. HTI’s own Smart role-play toys cover the key role-play themes of cooking, cleaning, shopping and power tools to promote play across a range of value price points.

role-play and push-along toys at the Toy Fair launch. Popular child toy blogger Beau selected the Battat Take-Apart Plane as his favourite new toy out of all the products at the show, and the initial stock had sold out by the end of this year’s fair. All young children love to join in making music whether banging a drum or jingling bells and Halilit’s range of high quality musical instruments are

the only ones on the market that are accurately tuned to ensure that they are note perfect every time. What child doesn’t love playing with a cardboard box? Simple, practical reusable kits from Imaginabox turn any cardboard box into a car, train, aeroplane, cradle or oven using the stickers and accessories provided, encouraging children from three and up to use their imagination when playing. Halilit also distributes preschool ranges from Interstar Construction, Edushape and Scotchi’s wipeable and flexible, puzzles, games and activities selection. 01254 872454

Tobar is the European distributor for new stationery range, Scentos, which is described as bright and bold with a distinctive cheerful funny face design. Suitable for children aged three and up, the range will encourage them to get creative and let their imaginations run wild. Products included in the range are the limited edition Activity Set (which includes over 75 scented pieces such as erasers, markers, crayons, stickers, paints, pencils and stationery); Funny Face Markers and Rainbow Pen; plus Scentos Scented Dough four pack and Pots. Meanwhile, Tobar has a distribution partnership for

the UK, Ireland and France with Schylling, the US brand which has over 30 years’ experience in classic toys. The range includes retro, tin, classic, music and collectable offerings. Keeping up with the tradition of pull along toys, Tobar’s bold selection of fun toys includes the classic duck family. For creative play, there is a range of musical tin toys such as tin boxes, whistles, kazoos and pianos, each sturdy enough to withstand enthusiastic little musicians. The Tobar team has also selected an assortment of classic products including Retro Robots, Jack in a Box, puzzles and tea sets. 0844 573 4299

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1-5 New for for 2015! 2015! New Available now now Available

Contact: sales@wowtoys.com / + 44 (0) 20 7471 0980 WOW TOYS, Unit 5, Victory Business Centre, Fleming Way, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 6DB

Games that grow with your family! Perfect for preschoolers and kids of all ages.

+44 (0) 207 298 9500 sales@winningmoves.co.uk www.bananagrams.com

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Retail Only

News Data Opinion

Dedicated monthly retail coverage

Toy stores need to go digital to ensure future success Clare Rayner, founder of the Future High Street Summit, believes retailers need to start catering to a digital savvy audience, whether through stocking innovative products or boosting the in-store experience with tech

By Billy Langsworthy TOY STORES need to embrace the digital world to ensure success in the future, retail expert Clare Rayner has told ToyNews. Rayner is the founder of the Future High Street Summit, and last month’s event centred on programmes set to push towns and city centres into the digital age. Despite the traditional focus of many independent toy stores up and down the country, Rayner believes

that toy shops need to start taking notice of its “digital savvy” customer base. Examples given include embracing the latest tech toys or incorporating technology in-store as part of the shopping experience. “Toy stores need to embrace digital as their target audience, children (and their parents), are increasingly digital savvy,” Rayner told ToyNews. “Most parents of young children today are ‘digital natives’, having been only children themselves when

RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD

Stuart Grant, The Entertainer

Fiona Murray-Young, Toys R Us

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Linzi Walker, Argos

the internet came into existence and all children are exposed to a wide range of technology, and the internet, from a very early age in school. “With this in mind, toy stores need to ensure that they offer a quality digital experience to supplement the store itself, such as tablet based in-store browsing for more detailed product information or having greater bias towards technology toys in their product range.” This championing of digital extends into self-

promotion, with Rayner preaching the power of embracing social media and having an online presence. “They need to be findable in the virtual world, engaging with customers through appropriate social media and via their own website,” added Rayner. “Of course, each store will have their own specific aims and engagement style, which will influence how they decide to go digital, but whatever the right approach is for your store, there’s no doubt that

it will be essential to your future business success.” Helen Dickinson, director general of the British Retail Consortium, added: “More than £150 billion of retail sales are influenced by digital but only half of small businesses have a website, and just 33 per cent of SMEs are currently online. “It’s suggested that digital technology could unlock £18.8 billion of revenue for SMEs as well as reducing their costs by up to 20 per cent, so it’s clear that there is a real opportunity for all players in our High Streets to tap into this potential and secure their place in the future.” Future High Street Summit: 0844 414 5153

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

Alphonse Madamombe, Maplin

Helen Gourley, Toy Hub

Miles Penhallow, Play-Room

Karla Mitchell, XBite

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INDEPENDENT SURVEY

‘3D printing is going to revolutionise the toy industry for the better’ In a new feature, ToyShop UK will ask its listers if they agree or disagree with a particular statement. This month, it’s the prickly issue of 3D printing

FOR

Models R Go John Guiver “I agree with the statement but it certainly wouldn’t be better for the retailers as the manufacturer could simply sell the electronic files to the end user and completely by-pass the retail chain. But it may be good for the end customer. And it will certainly be good if you’re a 3D printer retailer.”

AutoMattic Comics and Toys Matt Booker “I agree with the statement. Manufacturers can cut development costs down and speed up the process with licensees sending digital copies across the world to be printed. But home printing is a long way off being affordable at a decent quality. It will impact all toy retail.”

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Final Frontier Julian Shelford “It has already had an impact, and it is amazing watching it in action. It will hopefully produce better quality product and increase detail. The production of toy lines has always been adapting and the future looks exciting. The collectables side has already seen this with the Sideshow lines. As long as the manufacturers listen to their customers, it will be good. It might be a fad for the consumer but it will be good for retailers like us. I think technology is great. You want the industry to be exciting. It shouldn’t be stiff and starchy.”

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INDEPENDENT SURVEY

Silly Billy’s Toy Shop Robert Williams “It won’t be a revolution. It will only good for product development, prototyping and testing at this stage. I bought a 3D printer pen. It’s not great and the tech is not that advanced. I think it’s all more suited to a classroom than to a toy shop. They are good for what they are good for: modelling, but at the moment it’s all too fragile. We won’t touch it anyway as we’re a traditional store and I can’t see it as a threat because the quality at the moment isn’t great. With the 3D pen, you need to be an artist to use it, as well as know your way around different software applications. It’s not as simple as people think.” www.toynews-online.biz

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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 activities this year.

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

AGAINST

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.

Rainbow Gifts Colin Tindall “It’s plastic fantastic for geeks. Where I stand, we are a traditional toy shop selling predominately wooden toys aimed at the one to eight year old range. 3D printing is something I am sure many teenagers will love for a while and move on to something new. It’s not even going to make any mark on the children’s toys we sell. Imagine the safety risks too. We want to stay traditional so we wouldn’t go down that route anyway. Outside of our store, I don’t believe it will have an impact on the wider toy industry either. It’s too techy an area and it takes time and effort to produce anything from a 3D printer and even then it’s got mixed results. I see as something more the computer electronics space rather than something that would interfere with the toy market.”

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GOOD TOY GUIDE

Eggs mark the spot

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

This month, a toy retailer asks the Good Toy Guide’s head of retailer relations, Lucy Moody, what they can do to make their store the destination of the Easter holiday

Got a question for Lucy Moody, then drop us a line at rhutchins@nbmedia.com

THE TEAM at The Good Toy Guide and Fundamentally has been answering our numerous questions for a number of years now. So, we decided it was high time we allowed you to ask the industry’s experts the questions that mattered the most to you. This month, Dr. Amanda Gummer gives Fundamentally Children’s head of retail relations, Lucy Moody the stage to offer some sage advice on Easter time shopping. We are an independent, traditional toy retailer looking to boost our sales over the Easter period. What are the best ways to encourage kids into the store without bringing in sales or a lot of licensed lines? Easter offers many opportunities for retailers to engage with customers and draw people into shops, giving them the advantage over online stores. There is plenty to celebrate during April. The sun is shining (hopefully), the flowers are in bloom, new lambs are arriving and chocolate eggs begin to spring up at every turn. It’s a time for celebrating, so why not organise an event and invite the local

community to celebrate with you. Depending on the size of your shop and your location, arranging an Easter Egg hunt in-store or around the immediate area is a sure fire way to get kids excited and involved. Children could hunt out your hidden collection of

be interested in getting involved and it could turn into a real community event. This is a great way to attract people back to the High Street. If your store has the space, you could even hold an Easter craft session for kids, engaging them with simple colouring, making

Arranging an Easter Egg hunt instore is a sure fire way to get kids excited and involved. Lucy Moody, Fundamentally Children

eggs and return to your store to decorate them in an arts and crafts activity, or to receive a chocolate or pocket money treat. Who knows, other local stores may also

paper flowers, decorating Easter bonnets or painting wooden chicks; the craft opportunities are endless. And, by offering the added benefit of tea and coffee for the parents, I am

sure you will have parents needing to escape from the house during the school holidays and making the trip to you. Of course, you could always hold an in-store play day with the Good Toy Guide. We host these all year round, so you can make the most of any holiday period. Invite customers into your store with their children and engage them with a ‘try before you buy’ initiative, creating a destination where parents can take their kids after school, and enable them to play with a selection of your toys while our team of experts help parents recognise the benefits of the toys on offer. These have proven successful on every

occasion with shops selling out of the products we have demonstrated. Whichever you choose, good luck and please send us some pictures and The Good Toy Guide will be happy to give you a shout on our social media. Send them over to lucy.moody@ fundamentallychildren.com.

Lucy Moody joined Fundamentally Children as a child development researcher and copywriter and now heads up the retailer department, helping both small independents and large chains promote play and child development to their customers. She also helps advise them on how to sell more ‘Good Toys’.

CONTACT THE GOOD TOY GUIDE: Twitter: @fundamentalsUK l Facebook: FundamentallyChildren l Email: admin@goodtoyguide.com lwww.fundamentallychildren.com 52 April

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             

   

    

    

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SECTOR GUIDE: RC TOYS

Frequency fliers Whether it’s by land, air or water, the burgeoning RC sector has a multitude of vehicles to suit your every whim. Robert Hutchins takes a look at the latest powered toys to get your tills revving this spring Iain Morgan, MD, Bladez Toyz

BLADEZ TOYZ If there’s one thing Bladez Toyz knows, it’s radio control. And ready for launch this year, the firm has been busy putting the finishing touches to its new range of Super Micro RC Gadgets. The RC Mycropodz Drone and Helicopter line boasts a unique handset that not only charges the gadgets, but stores them compactly inside, too. Balance and stability during flight is a must for all flying toys enthusiasts, which is why Bladez’s family of Mycropodz features the RC 3ch helicopter, complete with a full gyroscope. And at 7cm, this is one of the smallest RC Gyro helicopters in the world. The company has also engineered a super-nano, 6cm Quadcopter, complete with four channels and 360 degree flip abilities, as well as LED lights and protective safety rotor

guards around the blades. “RC toys are massively Completing important to the toy sector, the collection of miniatures offering innovation to prethis month is school, teens and adults. At the officially Bladez, we have broken the licensed mould by creating handsets Volkswagen in our Mycropodz range that RC Micro Bus, store, as well as charge, the a 1:64 scale Helicopter or Drone.” camper that sits inside the handset, inspired by the front of a VW Bus. The Micro Bus is modelled on the classic 1962 split-screen effects as well as camper, available in a variety 2.4GHz controls of colours, and expected to to encourage be a top seller for Bladez multi purchase. this year. Bladez’ Minions Taking proceedings up a line-up will be notch, and the Bladez range joined by of Jumbo Remote Control new Star Inflatables now features Wars and new faces Bob, Kevin and Big Hero Stuart from the upcoming 6 lines in the near Minions Movie this summer. future. Each character features its 02392 658 259 own impact-activated sound

TOBAR From Quadcopters and remote control Ferraris to Monster Trucks boasting off road performance, Tobar has it all as it gears up for a high velocity 2015. Leading the company’s line-up is the 1:36 scale Ferrari RC Wrist Racers. Offering kids and RC fans an affordable taste of luxury, these scale racers arrive with wrist mounted

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controllers and three different Ferrari models. Hot on its heels is the 1:24 scale Ferrari RC 458 Italia. The radio control Ferrari 458 Italia model features full function movement and a car dashboard controller. The lightweight plastic chassis

is available in three colours and is highly detailed, accurately modelled on the original, albeit on a 1:24 scale. The packaging is marked with the control frequency of the car, allowing customers to buy multiple cars on different

frequencies that can then be operated simultaneously. Meanwhile, the Syma X7 is a four-bladed quadcopter, capable of four-channel movement in the air. And what does this mean? Well, it can ascend and descend, fly back and forth, rotate on the spot and then strafe from side to side. And to aid this enhanced mobility, the X7 also features a 3AXIS gyro stabilization system, allowing it an increased inflight stability and control. This makes it the ideal drone for beginners and veterans alike. Meanwhile, the drone’s intuitive controller is easy to use and has a range of inputs for all aspects of flight, from mode selectors to speed control and even a 360 eversion roll trigger.

Completing the line-up this season is the Maisto Extreme Beast. The hardwearing remote control car features spring suspension as well as hobby-grade TPE tyres, providing extra grip for an enhanced off-road experience. The Extreme Beast operates on the 2.4GHz frequency, meaning it benefits from a range of features including reduced signal interference, a 70 metre control range and the ability to drive alongside up to 16 other RC cars. Users can also gradually increase the acceleration of the car via proportional speed control on the pistolgrip controller. With a charge time of one hour, the RC car is a popular choice among enthusiasts and newcomers. 0844 573 4299 April 55

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N E W

A va ila b le

J un e

Handset storage. Handset charging.

Retro 1962 RC camper van • rubber tyres • marketing support • FSDU available +44 (0) 2392 658 259 trade@bladeztoyz.co.uk

www.bladeztoyz.com @bladeztoyz

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SECTOR GUIDE: RC TOYS FLYING GADGETS When he isn’t flying 747s around the globe, Flying Gadgets MD, Joshua Farleigh unwinds with a spot of hobby RC. And that’s just one reason why Flying Gadgets credits itself as the UK’s leading manufacturer and distributor of RC toys. With a portfolio of some of the most innovative helicopters, boats, rideons and quadcopters, the company is gearing up for a successful 2015. The Flying Gadgets X-Drone leads the charge as a distinctive addition to the range. Fitted with the latest gyroscope technology, this midsize quadcopter features an optional high definition camera, an LCD controller with three different flying modes and LED lights. The X-Drone is also capable of 360-degree flips, while maintaining stability. Back on terra firma, and the firm is excited

to introduce The Big 1, a 27mhz RC monster truck with a range of over 50 metres. With giant wheels, The Big 1 can traverse all terrains and can master puddles and jumps with relative ease. Flying Gadgets is expanding its fleet of licensed ride-on cars for children, with scale replicas of classic models including Volkswagen Beetle, Bugatti, Porsche and Aston Martin. The 6V or 12V battery operated vehicles boast authentic ignition and engine sounds, steering wheels and horns, as well as working lights. Completing the line-up this month, and Flying Gadgets takes us back to the skies with the Flying Gadgets X-Voice, a voice controlled drone that comes pre-programmed with 16 different languages. The drone is able to understand

accents and dialects and is ‘virtually indestructible’ thanks to a flexible caging surrounding its propellers.

WOW STUFF Wow Stuff’s TX Juice range has had an exciting start to 2015 with its new range proving a popular choice among RC fans. This month, joining the company’s classic Radar Copter, Stunt Buggy Xtreme and AI Copter is an array of rockets, helicopters and drones. Each contraption comes with a Juice Button, which allows children to activate a special feature such as an Artificial Intelligence System, power ups, turbo power or Auto-Launch and Land. Appealing to kids as young as eight and carrying through to adults, Wow Stuff believes it has something for everyone. The Pocket Drone by TV Juice comes in at just one and a half inches, allowing it to fit comfortably into its handset while it charges in your pocket. Meanwhile, the Fast Blast Rocket joins the line-up this season, a powerful balanced rocket that can www.toynews-online.biz

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Flyers can command the X-Voice to take-off, land, dance and flip via the supplied microphone

headset. The X-Voice is available now and is priced at £49.99. 0844 209 2626

TOMY reach heights of up to 200ft once the Juice Button is activated.

The rocket will then spiral back down to earth. It boasts a charging time of only ten seconds. Paying homage to the Copter family is TX Juice’s new Sonar Copter. The unique Artificial Intelligence

System makes the Sonar Copter easy to fly, while the Juice Button activates the patented Launch and Land for a smooth take off and hovering experience. 0870 054 6000

With the RC John Deere Johnny Tractor, little ones can take to the road for the first time with a soft moulded, brightly coloured tractor. Designed for the young RC fans, the Tractor features a flexible safety antenna and a simple and easy to use, two button remote control. Meanwhile, budding young farmers can recreate farm adventures with a range of Britains Big Farm radio controlled tractors, including New Holland T6070, Case IH 140 and John Deere 6190R Tractor.

A press of the button will activate real engine sounds, horns and working lights, while the hand control can be used to drive the tractor forward, backward, left and right. The cabs feature all details of the original tractor, from wing mirrors to hazard lights and front weight. The tractors are compatible with implements from the Britains Big Farm range, as well as other alternative 1:16 scale replica farm play items. 020 8722 7300

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SECTOR GUIDE: RC TOYS TOP RACE Top Race is gearing itself up for a busy year in the UK, with its latest line-up of land loving vehicles and flying gadgetry. The firm is quite literally shifting the earth this season with its collection of RC Excavators, including the Three Channel Excavator Construction Tractor and the Seven Channel Full Functional Excavator Construction Tractor. Detailed to look like the real thing, the Three Channel Excavator boasts RC forward and backward movement, while its excavator arm can move up and down. Meanwhile, the Top Race Seven Channel

Full Functional Excavator has the added benefit of completing 680-degree turns and boasts a flashing light display. Taking to the skies, and the Top Race drone selection ranges from Mini quads with in-built cameras to Fighter Jet-style drones. Leading the range is the 3D Tumbling Ladybug Four Axis Four Channel RC Quad Copter. Alongside the Four Channel 3D Micro Quad Copter, the mini drones boast full movement and can hover, ascend and descend, move left, right, up and down and perform 3D tumbling actions. The Quad Cam, Four Channel Quad Copter arrives

with a built in video camera and boasts a six-axis gyro system. This drone can be flown inside and out while capturing high resolution images and video footage. Now for the main events, which arrive in the form of the F22 Fighter Jet Four Channel RC Quad Copter (a fighter jet styled quad), the TR-808 Mini Six Channel 3D Stunt RC Helicopter and the Three Channel Indoor RC Blimp. With a charge time of around 40 minutes, the F22 Jet can remain airborne for 12 minutes of flight time, while the Stunt Helicopter can perform a range of tricks. info@toprace.com

VIVID Real FX (£99.99) is billed as the next generation of slotless racing, aiming to provide the most realistic driving experience in RC cars than ever before. Each car is fitted with infra-red Opto sensors, which read the track at 200 times per second. This level of AI means that a second car can drive around the track by itself

and compete against the user. Kids can overtake opponents and deal with track hazards, from tyre blowouts to oil spills in the racing system that brings gaming and slot racing together. Real FX will be launching off the starting grid this July. The Sky Rover Missile Firing Helicopter (£44.99) is a voice-controlled helicopter

that is lightweight and easy to fly. With 12 different commands, kids can have their helicopter spinning in circles and reaching new heights. They can then command their copter to fire missiles and shoot enemy craft. The Sky Rover Missile Firing Helicopter arrives with a headset and is fitted with voice recognition technology. 01483 449944

FLAIR

GOLDEN BEAR Golden Bear is making tracks in the RC sector this season with its lines of kidfriendly vehicles incuding the Go Mini, JCB and V-Dubs. First out of the starting blocks is the Bash N Spin RC Bulldog, a new addition to Golden Bear’s established Go Mini collection. The trigger on the controller activates the RC Bulldog to drive forwards, while the Bash button commands the vehicle to perform donut spins. The Bulldog also features barking sounds and working headlights. New in My First JCB this year is the Build and Go Digger, aimed at ages two and upwards. Young fans can use the chunky screw driver to attach super-sized wheels and front scoop to the cab. Big Wheeler Freddie will also join the team for 2015 with chunky wheels and a plough. 58 April

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This year sees Flair introduce pre-schoolers to the prestigious Ferrari car brand, with a collection including the first Ferrari RC. The Ferrari Play and Go F2012 Remote Control Car (£17.99) features an infrared steering wheel shaped controller, with easy to hold handles on the sides. The Ferrari moves backwards and forwards, features

Completing the range is the V-dubs collection, which is based on the iconic VW Campervan and Beetle cars. The pre-school range includes collectable Stylies, Speeders and Custom Chargers, as well as the V-Dubs RC Roll Over Beetle.

real moving Pirella P Zero wheels, a front and rear spoiler, personal driver and sponsorship to complete the look. The RC play-set is aimed at aiding development through play, hand and eye-coordination and imagination in budding racing fans. 020 8643 0320

The Roll Over Beetle comes with a chunky hand controller and realistic engine sounds for additional play value. Each vehicle in the range is customisable using the themed sticker sheets which are included. 01952 608 308 www.toynews-online.biz

17/03/2015 14:55

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0844 209 2626

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16/03/2015 10:21

Welcome to Jumbo Playlab Fun for now, handy for later!

Brightly coloured puzzles

Christmas puzzles

Exciting educational games

Suitable for 2-4 players

CONTACT YOUR JUMBO SALES REP FOR MORE INFORMATION

Jumbo Games, 2 Carters Row, Hatfield Park, Hatfield, UK, AL9 5NB Telephone: 01707-289289 email: uk.saleshotline@jumbo.eu www.jumbo.eu ToyTN160.indd News Jumbo1 Playlab.indd 1 60

11/03/2015 16/03/2015 09:37 10:31

SECTOR GUIDE: GAMES & PUZZLES

Piece keepers Games and puzzles, more so than any other sector in the toy space, has the power to delight consumers of all ages. Billy Langsworthy checks out some of this year’s biggest new offerings to hit shelves WINNING MOVES Winning Moves is adding lots of new products to its Top Trumps portfolio with some very high profile licences. Minions will have its own Top Trumps Tin that will include cards based around the now iconic little yellow creatures. Elsewhere, with a new movie on the way later this year, a Star Wars Top Trumps Tin will include characters from the upcoming The Force Awakens. The popular Shopkins will also be a new introduction to the Top Trumps portfolio in 2015, and the new additions will join the strong performing Top Trumps collection which includes editions such as The Big Bang Theory, and the number

one selling Top Trumps range, Disney’s Frozen. Winning Moves’ Monopoly Collection welcomes four new additions this year with family favourites from the worlds of Disney and Nintendo. Zelda and Assassin’s Creed are also amongst the new additions, as well as science fiction favourite Doctor Who: Regeneration. New versions of Trivial Pursuit to hit shelves this year include the hit US sitcom The Big Bang Theory, plus Wildlife, Dinosaurs and Radio Times Trivial Pursuit themed games. Winning Moves’ puzzle line continues to grow through the year, with current offerings including titles within the Harry

SPIN MASTER Spin Master’s portfolio of fast and furious games continued to perform strongly in the market during Christmas 2014. The extended Hedbanz range which now includes Act Up will be available throughout the year, along with the hands-on games of Moustache Smash and Shark Mania which have

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Potter range. Both 500 and 1,000-piece products are available including Hogwarts, Quidditch, Magical Creatures and Philosopher’s Stone.

Christmas themed puzzles are also proving to be strong performers, with both the Christmas is Coming 500-piece puzzle and the Christmas Building

a Snowman 1,000-piece puzzle continuing to be popular. The line will also be joined by some new puzzles later in 2015. 020 7298 9507

FLAIR both proved popular since launch in 2014. Two new Paw Patrol games, Look-a-Likes Matching Game and the Adventure Game, complete the spring 2015 line-up, while further Paw Patrol offerings will be released during the second half of the year. 01628 535000

Thomas and Friends is back in the Flair portfolio with a collection of seven wooden games including both new and familiar play concepts designed to enhance learning while playing. The Wooden Track Dominoes Game has 28 dual sided dominoes and four engines pieces. Children can either play the traditional game matching the images or turn the pieces over to create a wooden train track. The range also includes Shape Sorters, Tic-Tac-Toe, and a Wooden Clock Game. Elsewhere, the Squeaky Chicken game sees a nervous chicken protecting her eggs. The aim is to take as many eggs from the coop as possible, without waking the snoozing chicken. Players take turns stealing eggs, but every time an egg is gained the chicken will squeak and when the chicken’s favourite egg gets

taken, the chicken will jump up and squawk. Robo Smasherz is a game for two players and includes a pair of infra-red controlled robots that fight in the Ultimate Robot Championship. Players simply need to pick their corner and then help their Robo Smasher leave the main event as the ultimate champion.

Finally, Freaky Franky is a gruesome game of strength and features a large stretchable Frankenstein figure that brings the ultimate competition to gameplay. Players must stretch Franky’s flexible arms until his eyes pop out. The one who completes the task in the shortest time wins the game. 020 8633 0320

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Coiledspring Games @coiledspring

New games and puzzles for 2015

Chickyboom

Lift it!

Schmidt

Game of Thrones 4D

Fun preschool balance game

Early arrival due to high demand

Exciting new artists

Game of Thrones series 5 starts April 2015

www.coiledspring.co.uk Call 020 3301 1160 for more information

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SECTOR GUIDE: GAMES & PUZZLES ESDEVIUM GAMES 2015 is set to be a ‘landmark year’ according to Esdevium Games, with the firm boasting its biggest ever portfolio of titles. Esdevium’s range of popular Disney licensed games continues to expand this year with the introduction of several new titles, while retaining key sellers from 2014 including the Frozen 6-in-1 board game and the Disney Princess range. One new addition is Disney Pictopia, a new family game that introduces the idea of picture trivia. Disney Pictopia will test if players know their Kaa from their Kuzco, as teams assess a group of pictures from a range of Disney properties and answer a

number of different trivia questions. Players also have the opportunity to guess their opponents’ answers. Pictopia is available now and throughout the year. A further new addition is the Star Wars licensed version of the popular card game, Timeline. Star Wars Timeline takes events from Episodes IV, V and VI and players take it in turns to place a card on the chronological line with the aim of being the first to correctly place all their cards. They flip over the card to see if they are correct and if not, must take another. The game is set for a Q3 launch and the company claims ‘there may well be additional Star Wars games

available from Esdevium, with further announcements possibly due soon.’ Some of Esdevium’s big hits from 2014 will continue to play a large part in plans for this year. The first ever TV advertising for the firm’s popular Dobble card game kicked off in March and will continue across the Easter holidays to maximise awareness over this key sales period. Hotel Tycoon was another sell-out family game for Esdevium last year and 2015 will see the firm keep the same winning formula of expansive distribution supported by a wide-ranging marketing plan centred on TV advertising. 01420 593593

ORCHARD TOYS Orchard Toys has added two lines to its educational range set to bring increased diversity and innovative gameplay to the company’s line of games. Go Go Dragons, suitable for children from age four, is a game of chance, where players are powerless to influence the final outcome of the game.

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VIVID/DRUMOND PARK Players have to hope that the next turn of a card edges them closer to the finish line. Veg Patch Match, from five years, is a game of strategy in which children try to build a vegetable patch to replicate the one in the centre of the table. The game boosts concentration and memory skills as

players try to collect the amusing fruit and veg characters to win the game. If a Mr Sprout card is played, players have to shout out ‘Watch out, it’s Mr Sprout!’ and the game turns on its head, as this card allows the person who plays it to change one of items in the central board. 01953 859535

Vivid’s Drumond Park division boasts a wide range of new titles, from pre-school to adult, set to join its existing portfolio of favourites this autumn. New games on the way include the electronic kids action games Rattle Me Bones (£22.99), Og on the Bog (£22.99) and Sshh! Don’t Wake Dad! (£22.99). Elsewhere, there’s the pre-school Barbecue Party (£19.99) and Gee Whizz (£19.99). Meanwhile, in the adult category, Vivid believes that Logo Lite (£19.99) will be one of the most important games launches this year. The game features hundreds of

new cards which are fully compatible with Drumond Park’s Logo, as well as boasting a new game concept in its own right. In Logo Lite, players take it in turns to answer all the Logo questions on a card to collect six differentcoloured disks. Each correct answer gives a player a go on the spinner. If it stops on a colour that a player already has, play moves on to the next person. As the game reaches its climax, players need to answer more and more questions, while spinning colours that they may already have. 01483 449944

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SECTOR GUIDE: GAMES & PUZZLES MATTEL Mattel continues to provide gamers with an impressive portfolio of family favourite games in 2015. Top sellers include the number three family game Scrabble, the number one card game UNO, drawing game Pictionary and the latest addition, Bounce Off. The firm’s games portfolio will be supported with an extensive, multi-platform marketing programme under the umbrella communication of ‘Play the Game’. The programme will drive demand and awareness of the games portfolio during the key sales period leading up to Christmas. The campaign will be supported with TV and radio advertising, social media, retail page takeovers, in-

store POS and PR outreach including competitions and blogger reviews. In addition, the Facebook communities for Scrabble, UNO and Pictionary will continue to engage current and new brand advocates through creative and engaging content. Sticking with Scrabble, the brand has kicked off 2015 with a major partnership with The Daily Mail that uses the game’s classic gameplay while giving readers the opportunity to play to win cash. In autumn/winter, a major new initiative will celebrate Scrabble as the ‘smart choice for festive fun’ as the brand highlights its positioning as the game

of choice for mind and educational challenges. Elsewhere, UNO is partnering with Burger King this spring in a promotion that will see card packs included in every child’s meal. In addition, UNO Facebook fans can interact with the Facebook Game Changer competition to modify the game with new cards. The winning ‘Game Changer’ will see their suggested changes featured in the game in 2016. Mattel’s current

GOLDEN BEAR Golden Bear is taking inspiration from the TV for its latest batch of new games and puzzles, with products featuring Peppa Pig, Something Special and CBeebies’ Bugbies. The new Peppa Pig Glitter Dominoes helps to develop

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UNO range includes UNO Cards, Deluxe, Extreme, Dare and Junior. Other titles in Mattel’s games portfolio include Pictionary, the game of

quick sketches and crazy guesses, the head-to-head competition of Bounce Off and the family strategy game Blokus. 01628 500 000

COILEDSPRING children’s recognition and manual dexterity skills and sees each player take turns to match the pictures of key Peppa Pig characters. The Peppa Pig Glitter Dominoes come in a wooden storage box for safekeeping.

Elsewhere, based on the popular Something Special characters, the Mr Tumble and Friends Wooden Puzzle features six chunky wooden pieces each with a coloured peg to help pick up the pieces. Developing recognition skills, dexterity and handeye co-ordination, the puzzle is bright, colourful and features different colours behind each shape to match the pegs. The new Wooden Dress Up Mr Tumble gets little ones mixing and matching as they create their favourite interchangeable Something Special characters. Golden Bear’s CBeebies Bugbies range of toys includes the Toppling Bugbies stackable blocks. Each one features an iconic character from the CBeebies channel and with three different combinations of play, children simply roll the dice and take it in turns to remove the blocks until the Bugbies tower comes tumbling down. Alongside the toppling fun, the game also teaches pre-schoolers about cause and effect, encourages dexterity and promotes social play. 01952 608308

Coiledspring has an expansive range of jigsaws and games to please everyone from Game of Thrones addicts to fans of the artist Chris Saunders. The firm’s Game of Thrones 4D puzzle has arrived just in time for the fifth instalment of the award-winning HBO series. Fans can truly explore the island of Westeros by building each kingdom, uniting Westeros from the Bay of Ice to the Narrow Sea. The set also includes 3D versions of King’s Landing, Winter Fell, The Eyrie and The Wall. Elsewhere, Coiledspring’s collection of Schmidt jigsaws has welcomed new contributions from photographers Phil Koch and Alan Shapiro, plus artists Jon Rattenbury and Chris Saunders.

Making an early arrival due to popular demand is Chickyboom by Blue Orange, followed later on this year by Pengoloo. The game cleverly works handeye coordination and fine motor skills through the counting and balancing of chickens that are hanging out on their perch. Finally, Lift It! is a humorous game of construction. Players must draw cards that have different building projects on them and use the shapes around the board to create the given design within a time limit. Gamers might have to duel opponents, describe a structure to a team member, create it with a crane in their hand or with one attached to their head. 020 3301 1160

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SECTOR GUIDE: GAMES & PUZZLES JUMBO GAMES Jumbo Games is the top manufacturer of adult puzzles in the UK, with brands including Wasgij, Falcon de Luxe and Puzzle Mates under its belt. This year Jumbo Games is also getting political, with three different Wasgij scenarios based around the upcoming UK General Election. To complete the Imagine...? puzzle players must consider what the House of Commons would look like if the Conservatives, Labour or the Liberal Democrats won the General Election. Jumbo has also launched a political campaign backing candidate Dave Wasgij in the build up to the May General Election.

Dave believes that, through puzzling, he can ‘make a divided country fit together once again’. Meanwhile, the company will also be marking the return of Game of Thrones with a collector’s box set for puzzle fans.

The special edition will feature 3 x 500-piece puzzles with classic images and maps from the series to piece together. 01707 289289

BANANAGRAMS Bananagrams is the anagram game that requires no pencil, paper or board, and comes in a small portable bananashaped pouch. Perfect to play at home or on the go, the game has sold 6.5million copies in more than 30 countries worldwide and is a firm favourite with celebrities including the cast of Downton Abbey, Dame Judi Dench, Ellen Degeneres and Scarlett Johansson. Bananagrams is also available in a series of foreign language editions

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CARTAMUNDI including Hebrew, Spanish, French, Norwegian, Italian and German. There is also a larger version called Double Bananagrams, for up to 16 players, and a supersized outdoor version called Jumbo Bananagrams. A new version of the game, Bananagrams WildTiles, was unveiled at London Toy Fair earlier this year. The new game includes six unique monkey WildTiles. Players can pick up a WildTile and play it as any letter, as they race to complete their grids.

If they change their mind as the game progresses, just like every other tile in play, they can move their WildTile around as they rework their grid and it can become any letter they wish. Elsewhere in the Bananagrams collection, Zip-It will be relaunched with a fresh new look for this year. The popular game sees players throw cubes and use the letters to make a word grid faster than their opponents. 020 7298 9500

Cartamundi has an expansive range of card games on its books, spanning brands from James Bond to the Beatles. The firm’s traditional pack designs include illustrations based on different hit brands. For consumers looking for a regular card deck as a stocking filler or handy travel extra, the Royal Flush is one of the world’s market leaders in playing cards and card games. Elsewhere, Cartamundi’s Pitch Black deck is stylish, cool, and very, very dark. Smartphone and tablets are also now part of its armoury thanks to the company’s Shuffle range. Shuffle allows families to enjoy their favourite board games in card game form, with gameplay enhanced with smartphones or tablets via the use of an app that introduces new gaming possibilities. Titles in the Shuffle line include Shuffle Monopoly Deal, Monopoly Junior

(available in July), Monopoly Deal Disney, Shuffle Guess Who, Shuffle Play-Doh and Shuffle Cluedo. A great response from retail and customers has led to an expansion of the line which this year will grow further to include games based on Frozen and Disney Cars. 01268 511522

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SECTOR GUIDE: GAMES & PUZZLES SAMBRO Sambro is launching a host of new games to the UK market this year. These include Poopy Head, where the goal is to avoid being the one left with poop on their head, and Lay it or Break, a game that sees players battle to see who can ‘lay an egg’ without breaking it.

ACCENTUATE The successful Zombie Unrest in Pieces game continues, as does Sambro’s Spin Off Mickey Mouse and Spin Off Minnie Mouse games. As the characters spin, kids must hang various items on them before the timer runs out and all the items pop off.

Sambro also has a wide collection of licensed wooden pre-school puzzles with properties featured including Frozen, Doc McStuffins, Disney’s Planes, Minnie Mouse Bowtique, Sofia the First, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Mickey Mouse Club House, Disney’s Cars and Disney Princess. In addition to the wooden collection, a licensed Foam Puzzle collection is also available, as well as Sambro’s blind bag puzzles. 0845 873 9380

Accentuate is the award-winning game for grown-ups and one of the new-kids-on-the-block in the fast growing ‘Games for Badults’ sector. The awkward and embarrassing adult party game boasts a simple but humiliating premise: read a given quotation aloud in a randomly selected accent and see if teammates can guess what it is. The game includes 90 Accent Cards featuring 30 different accents from around the globe (each repeated three times), a third of which are British

dialects such as Cockney, Mancunian and Glaswegian. Overseas accents span all continents and include Russian, German, Chinese and Mexican. There are also 90 different Quotation Cards, which players pick from at random to read aloud – first in their own accent, then in the one on their chosen Accent Card, and with only 30 seconds to attempt it. Expansion packs for the game will be available from Q3 and a US version of the game, featuring a different set of accents and quotations cards, has been created and will go on sale in the States imminently. 0330 400 4162

numbers in the correct spaces in the correct order or take them out to reveal Peppa party images. Other puzzles include a Peppa Pig Dress Up Numbers and Muddle Puddle Peg Puzzles, offering number learning and shape sorting activities with fun Peppa designs. HTI’s own in-house games range provides an extensive selection of traditional board, family and strategy games spanning Draughts, Chess, Ludo and Snakes & Ladders to Bingo & Lotto.

The company’s own Wood Works range of traditionally crafted wooden toys includes many pre-school wooden puzzles, many from 18 months upwards, such as chunky shape sorters, assorted peg puzzles, a learning clock, alphabet and number puzzles, dominoes, an abacus, chalk board and jumbo floor puzzle. All Wood Works puzzles help to develop recognition of numbers, letters, shapes and colours as well as enhance hand-eye coordination, cognitive abilities and stimulate visual development. 01253 775684

Elsewhere, Crazy Toaster is a fast paced game where kids have to collect the different foods to win. The three new lines will all be supported by TV advertising.

HTI

GIBSONS Gibsons wooden games range consists of nine games including Chinese Chequers, Shut the Box and Tiddlywinks. Each has benefited from a contemporary packaging update in the past year. The wooden games are handmade from super smooth rubberwood, whose trees are only cut down once they are no longer producing rubber and are immediately replaced with another tree. Gibsons also offers a range of jigsaw puzzles from two piece mix-andmatchers up to 2,000 pieces for puzzling experts.

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Elsewhere, the Spot the Sillies series of jigsaw puzzles is ideal for children aged five and up, and continues with the Crazy Kids Club. Puzzlers might see some odd things on the box, but a sneaky few will only appear once the puzzle has been completed and the challenge is to find all ten. The Gibsons My World range consists of 12 games and puzzles, designed to teach little ones essential skills for their future, such as vocabulary, numeracy and motor skills. Each product is created in conjunction with child psychologist and play specialist Dr Amanda Gummer and contains lots of handy hints for parents on how to maximise the educational value. 020 8661 8866

HTI is home to some of the biggest character brands and own design games and puzzles ranges. The firm has a range of Peppa Pig wooden puzzles and toys designed to encourage early learning and develop hand-eye coordination. The Floor Puzzle is a 49-piece jumbo jigsaw featuring a fun Peppa Pig classroom scene. The chunky 3D Clock Puzzle helps little ones to learn to tell the time, as well as familiarise themselves with numbers as they have fun placing the shaped

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SECTOR GUIDE: GAMES & PUZZLES RAVENSBURGER Ravensburger’s children’s puzzle range offers characters, themes, piece counts and formats suitable for every age and taste. Already part of the licence portfolio are Avengers: Age of Ultron, Bing Bunny, Minions, The Clangers, Twirly Woos, Stickman plus Big Hero 6, Disney’s Cinderella, Palace Pets, Star Wars Rebels, The Good Dinosaur, Inside Out and Miles from Tomorrow. Also new are refreshed additions to ranges such as Thomas & Friends, The Gruffalo, In the Night Garden, Disney Doc McStuffins, Disney Frozen, Princess, Finding Nemo and Disney Cars, plus new products in the My First Puzzles preschool range. The firm also states that The Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower and Lighthouse 3D puzzles with lights continue to be must-have products. The Big Ben with lights is launching later this year and other new launches such as Neuschwanstein Castle, One World Trade Centre and Country Cottage have proved to be equally as popular. 01869 363830

HASBRO Hasbro has a range of new games under several major brands launching this year. Monopoly Here and Now: World Edition is the first Monopoly game to be decided by global vote as fans have been given the chance to rally behind their hometown to secure its place on the new game. The game features iconic landmark tokens and new gameplay where players race round the board to visit as many locations as possible, collecting passport stamps along the way. Players will collect cash from visitor fees when opponents land on their locations and the first player to fill their passport wins. The game is available from autumn 2015. Also launching later this year is Jenga Quake. Blending skill, suspense, 70 April

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laughter and luck, Jenga Quake sees players pull out the blocks knowing that the tower can start to shake at any time. Gamers must take their turn before the tower totally comes crashing down. Croc Dentist challenges players to act as a daring dentist on Silly Jock Croc’s sore tooth. When a gamer presses down on a tooth, he’ll chomp if it’s sore. Guess Who Extra provides fans of the classic game with four ways to play and 144 mystery faces to choose from. Players ask questions to eliminate faces and press the ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ buttons to answer opponent’s questions. The gameboard keeps track of scores and features electronic lights, sounds, and a timer. 020 8569 1234 www.toynews-online.biz

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SECTOR GUIDE: GAMES & PUZZLES JOHN ADAMS Triominos, a triangular take on the traditional dominoes game, is welcoming a new range of five products across a range of prices. The range will be led by hero product Triominos Classic Deluxe, which will feature the recognisable triangular packaging, with other items including Triominos Excel, Triominos XXL, Triominos Travel and Triominos Compact. The company will also be expanding its action games category with two new additions: Greedy Sheep and Elly Fountain. Greedy Sheep has a simple format; players take it in turns to feed grass to the sheep. He keeps eating and bleating until finally his woolly fleece flings off. Elly Fountain is the game where being sprayed with water is a good thing. Players take it in turns to feed Elly and press her arm; if she sprays a player with water, they must then take a splash coin. The first player to get three splash coins wins. Both products will be supported by TV advertising and PR.

TREFL Trefl is a manufacturer of jigsaw puzzles, board games and playing cards manufactured in Gdynia, Poland. The company was established in 1985 and presently runs two factories and employs over 500 people. Trefl’s products are delivered to over 50 countries worldwide with products based on most

Shopkins will also be joining the games collection with a range featuring The Shopkins Puzzle Tin, Supermarket Scramble Game, Pop ‘n’ Race Game and Big Roll Bingo. All arrive in the autumn and will offer exclusive Shopkins collectable figures. Continuing to build on its successful TV games portfolio, John Adams will be adding Tipping Point to its collection. Based on the daytime ITV quiz show hosted by Good Morning Britain’s Ben Shephard, the game will come with table top electronic Tipping Point

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machine with moving base plate, as well as question cards and counters. John Adams’ Rummikub range has also been expanded with new additions. The brand will be welcoming titles including Rummikub Xpress, Travel Rummikub, Rummikub Prime, Rummikub Junior and Rummikub Word. Following a very successful 2014 celebrating its 40th anniversary, the company’s Rubik’s range will continue to offer a strong product collection based on the iconic cube. 01480 414361

UNIVERSITY GAMES

PAUL LAMOND Paul Lamond’s brand new Puzzle Ball is a collectable 3D puzzle featuring five licensed teams: Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. Each Puzzle Ball features an image of the current manager and top players, and when created the ball is the size of an actual football, 8.6-inches and features 240 pieces.

popular objects and places. The firm also boasts most of the major character licences in Poland, including favourites from Disney, Marvel, Warner Bros, Hasbro and Mattel. The firm is the leading manufacturers of jigsaw puzzles in Central Europe and has enjoyed great success in 2014 in the UK. sales@sjr-associates.co.uk

Collectors will also support the two 500-piece jigsaw puzzles for each club depicting key moments from that club’s history. Elsewhere in the Paul Lamond portfolio, new for autumn 2015 will be Never Mind the Buzzcocks The Board Game, as well as the Jacqueline Wilson Dreams, Dilemmas and Divas Board Game. 020 7254 0100

Following the success of Bunny Jump and Chicken Charades, University Games is further developing its portfolio in 2015, with the launch of three new children’s action games. Seagull Splat sees children poop their way to victory, while UFO Alarm sees players try and keep their farmer and animals from the evil alien who is trying to teleport them into the electronic spaceship. University Games is also launching Aladdin’s Flying Carpet. Players must balance Aladdin’s treasure, and try not to make it fall from ‘flying’ in the air. All three new games are planned for TV exposure in 2015, together with the existing core lines Don’t Rock The Boat, Bunny Jump, Chicken Charades and 5 Second Rule. Also, University Games is introducing a refresh for its Pointless Board Game

and Mini Game version. Sticking with Mini games, the company boasts low cost versions of 5 Second Rule, Smart Ass, Spot The Difference and Sort It Out. Great Explorations – University Games’ glow range – also enjoys a complete rebrand for 2015, with a full redesign of packaging and branding,

carrying a lifetime guarantee of ‘Glowability’. In the world of arts and crafts, meanwhile, My Studio Girl remains a key focus for the company. It is looking to build on its first year in 2014, with the addition of two new lines: Travel Buddies and Tiny Town Buddies. 0333 4050120

www.toynews-online.biz

18/03/2015 12:42

No pencil. No paper. No board.

JUST SPEED! Discover the word game phenomenon loved by millions worldwide.

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The new award winning party game for grown-ups

Bringing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the fun of accentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to Britain enquiries to: Fiona Fraser-Bell, Accentuate Games Ltd

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Email: fiona@accentuategames.com Mobile: 07748 184 525 Office: 0330 400 4162 Web: www.accentuategames.com

18/03/2015 11:11

OBSERVATIONS 0F A TOY INDUSTRY SURVIVOR

Jon Salisbury THERE’S A certain degree of laissez faire about the toy industry that just wouldn’t be acceptable in other businesses. Entrepreneurial spirit is to be applauded, nay encouraged. Without it, half of all toys would never make it to market. True, there are standards that must be adhered to before a product can be sold safely to consumers, but hesitate for too long and you might miss the boat. Would you, for example, have dared to import a loom band toy at the peak of their boom, given all the competition? Well, Martin Grossman did, so confident was he that his importing skills had secured him a product with a sufficiently unique point of difference that there was room for it on the market. “The Loom Twister has had an amazing impact on people. Loads of bands are being made for charity, which is a great credit to our younger generation,” Grossman told ToyNews, in a story from last year. “There are loads of new Loom Twister products coming in to the market each month. You cannot rest on your laurels in this game.” Attendees to last year’s Toy Fair noticed the absence of 2013’s muchcelebrated Rainbow Loom on the H Grossman stand. The distributor confirmed to ToyNews following last year’s show that after a series of disruptions in its

relationship with the manufacturer, Grossman made the decision to launch its own version of the girl’s craft kit. Customers and retailers were instead introduced to the new version of the popular playground craze, the Creative Fun Loom. MD Martin Grossman confirmed that the relationship with Rainbow Loom ended due to a “difference in sales approach” just “days before” the show. Grossman said that the cracks in the relationship first started to form due to disputes in the pricing and marketing of the Rainbow Loom at retail. “I wanted a mass market roll out of the Rainbow Loom product while they wanted to target arts and crafts specialists,” Grossman explained at the time. “[The owner] came to me and said ‘your customers are undercutting the price of the Rainbow Looms, you must tell them to stop and only sell at our price’.” Grossman informed the manufacturer that any discussion of prices with the customers was illegal. “I am not allowed to discuss prices with the customers. It’s up to them what they do because it is a criminal offence if I suggest they sell at a fixed price of £14.99. I cannot afford to do that,” added Grossman. Grossman was quick to point out to the owners of Rainbow Loom that the

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Our columnist takes a look back at an example of how sometimes you have to move quickly to get what you want in the fast moving toy world

issues it was experiencing with pricing was not due to “my punters, but because of all the cheap stuff coming in.” One week before Toy Fair 2014, Grossman made the decision to proceed without the firm and launch the Creative Fun Loom. “It was four days before Toy Fair 2014 when up went Creative Fun Loom. I was still doing the artwork in Hong Kong while I was there. “We had no option but to make our own, we could not stand here with an empty space. I had already paid for people to come and demonstrate,” concluded Grossman. Rather than just give up on Loom, Grossman took the initiative. It’s an approach that should to be encouraged.

Jon Salisbury has written about the toy business since 1985, editing magazines and running toy media events in New York and London. He can be contacted at jonsalisbury@icloud.com or @JonSalisbury www.toynews-online.biz Editorial: 01992 535646 Advertising: 01992 535647

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Love Monopoly? Shuffle has a game for everyone!

subject to licenso

r approval

Monopoly Junior available for delivery AW15.

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More great Shuffle titles coming soon!

Sales@Cartamundi.co.uk Ph: +44 1286 511 522 www.shuffle.cards

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Telephone: 01420 593 593 Email: Sales@EsdeviumGames.com TV TN160.indd Games - ToyNews.indd 1 76 1

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