Industry Moves

Flair bolsters sales team with new hires

Alex McKie

Karl Young

Flair says it is ‘heading confidently’ towards the end of the year with two new additions to its sales team. Karl Young and Alex McKie join as senior national account manager and national account manager respectively and will be integral to the success of the business’ current brand portfolio.

Heading up Flair’s largest accounts, Karl and Alex will be pivotal to the ongoing growth of the business and will work with the wider team to maintain excellent relationships and customer satisfaction.

Having worked for six years at Bandai UK on its Amazon and grocery accounts, and more recently at the houseware manufacturer DNC, Karl has a wealth of experience to bring to his new role. As senior national account manager, he is responsible for maintaining strong and successful relationships with Amazon, Argos and Sainsburys, amongst others.

Alex joins from arts & crafts business Curious Universe. His prior experience in the Publishing, Gifting and Stationery sectors stands him in good stead for managing Flair’s partnerships with Tesco, The Entertainer and B&M, to name a few.

Julia Cake, UK country manager at Flair, said: “Karl and Alex are a welcome addition to the team and we’re confident our national accounts will go from strength to strength under their management. 2022 has been an excellent year so far and, with a fantastic brand portfolio and team in place, we are in an exciting position heading towards Christmas.”

The Flair portfolio includes collectibles, creative play, pre-school toys, plush and more, with hero brands for 2022 such as Action Heroes, Super Cute and Unique Eyes.

Galt names new GM as two stalwarts retire

The Jumbodiset Group has announced the retirement of two highly regarded and long-serving Galt leaders – managing director John McDonnell and sales director Clive Robinson – with Jacqueline Taylor Foo taking up the role of GM.

John McDonnell recently retired after 28 years with Galt. The Jumbodiset Group has put on record its recognition of John’s hard work and commitment to the company over such a long period.

Commenting on John’s retirement, departing Jumbodiset CEO Joan Ferrer said: “As the head of Galt for so many years, John has been a standout and respected leader in the industry. We have enjoyed collaborating with him across Europe since the incorporation of Galt to the Jumbodiset family and his passion and expertise will be missed.”

Clive Robinson will retire at the end of 2022, after 26 years with Galt. The company has expressed its gratitude to Clive for his major contribution to Galt’s success in the market.

John and Clive leave Galt in a strong position following its acquisition by the Jumbodiset Group in 2019. They both played a key role in a transition that has positioned Galt and Jumbodiset to thrive across the UK & Ireland in what promises to be an exciting new era for the joint endeavour. Jacqueline Taylor Foo assumed the position of general manager Jumbodiset/Galt UK & Ireland on 1st November. Jacqueline has a long and impressive track record in the toy sector, having delivered cross-functional success at companies including Mattel, Spin Master. Zapf Creation and Melissa & Doug LLC. Jacqueline commented: “I am honoured to be joining the Jumbodiset/Galt team. Our new European leadership team has exciting plans, with huge ambitions to further grow the company as we integrate to one even stronger organisation.”

The changes at Galt takes place within the context of further developments at Jumbodiset, where new CEO Mark Hoitijnk took over from Joan Ferrer in October 2022. Joan will remain a member of the board of Jumbodiset.

Gary Wilmot joins Playmobil UK as field sales manager

Gary brings with him a wealth of knowledge and industry experience, having held senior roles at Tonies, Character Options and Schleich. In his new role at Playmobil, he will focus on the Toy Specialist channel.

Alf Bohm, head of Sales at Playmobil UK, said: “We are really excited to welcome Gary to the team; he has a huge amount of experience in the industry and a fantastic understanding of the Toy Specialist business.”

He added: “Gary is looking forward to meeting his new customers in the upcoming weeks and will bring a huge amount of experience within the industry. I have no doubt he will make a huge impact on the Christmas plans for Playmobil, and work through all the exciting things to come in 2023.”