From the publisher

We’ve reached the halfway point of the year. So far, so…meh. I’m all for being positive and adopting a ‘glass half full’ perspective, but it’s also important to be honest and authentic. The truth is that the first half of 2024 has been another tricky period for the UK toy market. January got off to a reasonable start, with many kids visiting toy stores to spend money or vouchers they had received for Christmas. However, with the exception of Easter and the May half-term holiday, toy sales have generally been lacklustre over the first half of the year.

The absence of a major craze is painfully evident, while UK consumers have continued to face economic headwinds which have subdued retail sales. And let’s not dwell on container prices, which have been a major cause for concern for many of the suppliers I have been speaking to in recent weeks.

However, let’s try to look on the bright side: we’ve got through arguably the toughest part of the year. The last quarter remains pivotal to the toy community, and everyone is hoping that the impending general election removes some of the political and economic uncertainty which has been holding back retail sales across the board (it is certainly not a specific toy problem) and gives us the chance of a good run through to Christmas.

I wrote in my Blog a few weeks back about the prospect of ‘new manager bounce’ if and when a new government is elected, and arguably the timing of the election couldn’t have been better from a toy trade perspective. A November or December election would have been disastrous for festive trade: just when we want everyone feeling upbeat and positive, we would have found ourselves in the midst of a vicious, negative election campaign. Better to get all of that nonsense out of the way now, so we can move onwards and upwards.

Admittedly, I’m not saying that our (potential at the time of writing) new government has any kind of magic wand, but somehow a new football manager often manages to get a completely different performance out of the same set of players that got their predecessor fired. Sometimes, you need just a fresh start and a clean break with the past. I get the sense that hope is in the air and better days are ahead (I told you I was a glass half full person…).

The really optimistic amongst us might even say that things have already started looking up. After a slow post-Easter period, retailers tell me that the May halfterm week saw a healthy sales bounce. A combination of payday, kids off school, a brief burst of better weather, new Lego launches hitting shelves and perhaps even a sense

of relief that the election was in sight all helped to bring shoppers out. The same thing could very well happen over the summer holidays, especially if we finally manage to get some decent weather (check out this month’s Circana column to see just what a difference a couple of days of good weather made to the May sales numbers).

It’s also just been announced that UK inflation has dropped to 2%, which should result in interest rates coming down slightly after the election period is over –another potential positive for consumers. And, of course, the second half of the year is when the big guns start to come out in terms of new launches and marketing campaigns.

The last few weeks has seen several high-profile launch events to introduce exciting new toy ranges to the media and consumers, and there is undoubtedly a lot more to come on that front. This month’s features offer ample proof that toy companies aren’t sitting on their laurels; more than ever, we need to excite consumers and give them a reason to spend. This month’s comprehensive round-ups of major categories such as Construction Toys and Tech Toys show that innovation is very much alive and kicking in the toy community. We also shine a spotlight on Stationery - a great opportunity for toy retailers to gain incremental sales as back-to-school season beckons – as well as Dress Up and Role Play, a traditional category which never goes out of fashion and always gets a nice boost around Halloween.

It's also during the second half of the year when consumer marketing campaigns start to really ramp up. While the media landscape continues to evolve at a frankly frightening pace, one thing doesn’t change: a good commercial and campaign can make all the difference to sales. I had never actually seen a commercial being filmed before – until last month, when I paid a visit to leading studio Diaframma in Florence, where I got to watch the magic happen at close quarters. It was quite an eye-opener, and really brought home to me how detailed the process is, and just how valuable dedicated toy market experience and expertise is when it comes to creating great content. There are a lot of parallels with trade magazines. Anyone can throw some words and pictures together. It takes a team with knowledge, experience and understanding of its market to create something truly worth reading. I believe that’s what you hold in your hand – a treasure trove of valuable insight, analysis and opinion, coupled with more new products than you will find anywhere else on the printed page.

Enjoy this month’s issue, we’ll be back next month when the election is done and dusted and – fingers crossed – we can finally start to believe that ‘things can only get better.’