From the publisher

The first two months of the year traditionally represent a frantic period for the global toy community, with international travel keeping many of us away from our desks for prolonged periods – in normal times. However, as we all know only too well, we are currently not living in normal times. 2022 once again saw the organisers of the Hong Kong, Nuremberg and New York Toy Fairs forced to admit defeat and cancel their events – hopefully it will be a case of ‘third time lucky’ and the shows will return in all their glory in 2023.

But this time round, that left the London Toy Fair as literally the only toy show in town. After a gap year that seemed like an eternity at times, the London Toy Fair returned in January…with a bang! The energy, the positivity, the delight at seeing old friends and colleagues, the fun of meeting new people for the first time and the joy at finally being able to see product in the flesh again all made for a truly positive, uplifting event.

Maybe there are people out there who prefer to present toys on zoom. Maybe there are buyers who would rather evaluate and assess new lines digitally. It’s just that I have yet to meet anyone from either group. Of course, despite the fact that it was the only major toy show able to take place this year, there were still no guarantees that it would be a success. Would people actually come? Would it be strange wearing a mask all day - would that make it feel a bit awkward and impersonal? Would HR teams prevent certain major buyers from attending? Would it all be a bit of an anticlimax?

I am absolutely delighted to say – with hand on heart – that the reverse was true. There was a palpable, electric buzz that no amount of masks could kill. Buyers seem to have triumphed over their HR departments; teams from the majors were out in force, while numerous indies also made the trip. There was also a welcome bonus as many international attendees came along, not just from all parts of Europe as we had perhaps anticipated, but from further afield too.

With fewer media and peripheral visitors in attendance, it felt like there was a renewed focus on the products on display. Very few companies were offering previews last autumn winter, and with no Hong Kong show, this was the first time most of us had seen the

new lines in real life. All of the conversations I had with retailers revolved around what we had seen (straight after affirming how delighted we all were to be there, of course) – and there were some fantastic new launches on show, which are looking forward to bringing you more details about over the coming months.

We start this month with features covering the Outdoor, Action Vehicles and Science & Nature categories, where there is plenty of innovation and a wealth of new introductions to keep these sectors fresh and exciting.

It was a shame that the winners of the toy of the year and retailer of the year awards weren’t able to be presented with their trophies at an event during Toy Fair, but our congratulations to all the successful companies. In all of the chaos leading up to the show, I can completely understand why the BTHA chose to err on the side of caution and reveal the winners digitally. Indeed, despite calls from certain quarters to call the show off, I am delighted that everyone involved kept calm and held their nerve. The show ran incredibly smoothly, with neither the Olympia renovation work nor the pandemic impacting on anyone’s experience at the fair, beyond the occasional mild inconvenience. So, congratulations to the whole BTHA team for pulling it off with aplomb.

Thank you to everyone who made time in their busy schedules to see the Toy World team at the show – it was lovely sitting at dinner each night listening to our team talking about who they had met and what they had seen that day.

Another fascinating and eventful year lies ahead. We have Argos ‘planning for better’ and Toys R Us due to launch its UK site in May and currently recruiting buyers, with rumours of a buying team that could run into double figures. Meanwhile, the retailers that had a great year last year will undoubtedly be looking to replicate and build on that success – and that is just here in the UK. In every territory across the globe the dial has just been turned back to zero: retailers and suppliers are all looking at how best to make ’22 another successful year. And Toy World will be here to catalogue every twist and turn and share all the latest news and views from across the toy community as they unfold. 2022…bring it on.