Industry Moves MGA Entertainment names Michelle Lilley as new marketing director Michelle Lilley has been promoted to marketing director UK and Ireland for MGA Entertainment UK, having previously been the head of marketing for Little Tikes. The role took effect from January 2022. In her new post, Michelle will lead all UK brand marketing teams, which includes celebrated brands such as L.O.L. Surprise!, Little Tikes, Rainbow High and Na! Na! Na! Surprise. The company says her primary objective will be to focus on building core business strategies and leading the charge to turn these strategies into compelling product lines, launches and business-building communications. Michelle’s passion for the industry began over 20 years ago, when she worked for three years in a Toymaster store, balancing the role with her studies. Since then, her experience has been rooted in consumer goods marketing, and the new role follows her time at Little Tikes, where she rose through the ranks from marketing manager to head of Marketing, leading the team to deliver bold and strategic campaigns for over eight years. Michelle said: “I am thrilled to take on such an exciting opportunity. I began working at MGA in 2013, leading on marketing for Little Tikes. I’m very excited to take this next step in my career at MGA and continue working with an incredible team on some of the UK’s leading toy brands.”
MGA and Zapf part ways with Neil Bandtock MGA Entertainment and Zapf Creation have announced that Neil Bandtock has resigned to seek new opportunities, following 15 months as the managing director for UK & Ireland. The company said it was thankful to Neil for his hard work over the past year, undertaken during extremely challenging circumstances for the industry, and wishes him well in his future endeavours. Marcel Deveny, VP Sales and Marketing EMEA, will cover the role in the interim period with the support of the UK management team. He stated: “I am really looking forward to leading and supporting the MGA Entertainment and Zapf teams across the UK and Ireland, working in close collaboration with our retail partners to drive the full potential of our brands.” As the company heads into what it calls ‘an exciting and ground-breaking new year’, plans are underway to break NPD records for market-leading brands including L.O.L. Surprise!, Baby born and Baby Annabell, Rainbow High, and the No. 1 outdoor brand, Little Tikes. MGA stated: “With massive product innovation across the board and a host of new brands ready to disrupt the market later this year, 2022 is set to be the biggest and most exciting year to date.”
Kidicraft expands sales team to support long-term growth Kidicraft is kickstarting 2022 with the addition of seven new sales agents, taking the Bob Duxbury Craig Kidd David Neale Steve Davies team to 11 in total. The company has welcomed Bob Duxbury, sales agent for the North East; Craig Kidd, business development manager; Steve Davies, sales agent for Wales; Trish Easter, sales agent for the South West, and Sarah Hobbs, sales agent for the Midlands. Working alongside Craig Kidd will be David Neale, and Sarah Hobbs will be joined by Victoria Wilkinson to strengthen those areas further. Bob Duxbury was first introduced to the sales industry by his father who worked for Rosebud Mattel when Mattel first came to the UK, and brings a wealth of puzzle knowledge with him having worked for Gibsons for 31 years. Craig Kidd will be focusing on Kidicraft’s key account customers and working closely with David Neale. Craig has worked in the industry for over two years, while David Neale is now into his fourth year within the toy industry. Steve Davies brings with him over 25 years of experience within the gift, Trish Easter Sarah Hobbs Victoria Wilkinson toy and greetings industry, while Trish Easter has spent 16 years working in the gift industry. Sarah Hobbs and Victoria Wilkinson are lifelong friends and have worked together in the gift industry for many years covering the Midlands. They feel that Kidicraft’s portfolio is the perfect addition for their customers and are looking forward to showcasing the company’s range of jigsaw puzzles. The new agents are joining Kidicraft at an exciting time with new product launches from Star Wars, Marvel and Discovery, plus a worldwide licence agreement with Hornby. 2022 is expected to be another year of expansion for Kidicraft and the new additions to the sales team are set to support this growth.
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