Feature - Outdoor Toys

Everybody out!

Coming into 2022, interest in outdoor toys – from bikes and mud kitchens to play houses and climbing frames – is at an all time high, and the options on offer continue to grow. Rachael Simpson-Jones talks to a number of suppliers specialising in different areas to find out how the category is shaping up this year.

I’ve noticed a curious thing over the years: it’s always raining when I sit down to write articles about the Outdoor Toys category. Today the weather could be more accurately described as sluicing down, and my husband informs me the builders working on our house have retreated into their van to avoid drowning. Still, summer is round the corner and with it, the opportunity to get outside and play.

In December, data from The NPD Group showed that the Outdoor Toys category was up +8% value share vs. 2019, and suppliers are certainly seeing plenty of demand. The trials of lockdown have had a lasting effect on the family psyche, with time spent outdoors, be it in a garden, playground, park or forest, now an undisputed factor in a healthy childhood. The pandemic showed us that too much time spent inside is no good for anyone, and with restrictions all but entirely lifted across much of the UK, parents and kids will this year be keener than ever to spend quality time out of the house. Indeed, the impact of lockdown is being seen in this year’s newest outdoor products: for example, Mookie is launching a charming range of potting benches from its TP Toys brand that will cater to those kids who discovered a love of gardening while stuck at home.

Geemac, which offers the leading Sportspower brand of trampolines, climbing frames and more, says the growth of the category shows no signs of slowing and that, moving forward, the year ahead looks very positive indeed. Key account manager Adam Pearson expanded: “The message we continually hear is that parents want and need kids outside and active. Health is everything these days so as long as we drive innovation and excitement into our development, we can be confident the category can continue to thrive.”

SJR Associates has also seen a big increase in the demand for outdoor toys over the past two years, according to Steve Richardson, managing director at the company, which distributes the Dolu range within the UK & Ireland (highlighted this month as a top outdoor supplier by Toy Barnhaus). The brand doesn’t exclusively produce outdoor toys, but certainly offers a lot of them and has become a major supplier: the range includes play houses, slides, play gyms, sand and water tables, sand shells, picnic tables, football goals, tractors, trikes, ride-ons and much more.

One of Dolu’s biggest strengths, Steve tells me, is that everything is delivered direct from the Turkish factory, making it very competitive on price. He adds: “As a company we offer a bigger range than most, along with what we hope are the best margins possible. We’ve had great success in the past few years with our outdoor lines. We’ve expanded the colour options and also colour coordinated our outdoor toy ranges; we’re aware that consumers are conscious of the aesthetics of matching items, even in the garden, so we offer a complete colour matched range including slides, play houses, ride-ons, sand and water tables and more.”

Both Dolu and Geemac have invested in new facilities recently that have expanded their business models and enhanced what they can offer retailers. The former opened its huge new Turkish factory close to the Bulgarian border last year, and Steve remains blown away by its scope and adaptability. Occupying some 65,000 square meters – or seven Manchester United football fields, as Steve likes to describe it – the factory also houses a 1,000 square metre showroom and offers five times more production and storage capability than its predecessor.

“This year we’ve heard from multiple different buyers that they now regard Dolu as a leading outdoor brand in the UK,” Steve adds. “Those who saw us this year at Olympia this year, including many existing customers who have placed a lot of business with us, were seeing the range for first time and were highly impressed, especially with the quality.”

Geemac, meanwhile, which was founded on an FOB business model, opened its Northampton warehouse just over a year ago and now supplies domestically as well. With a diversified range and home delivery available too, Adam says the move has ‘drastically strengthened’ the company’s customer base. Despite the challenges of the past two years and the huge uplift in demand for product, Geemac has been able to supply its retailers with limited disruption and meet consumer expectations too.

“Retailers are always going to be cautious with an unknown or new product at a higher price point,” Adam explains. “But, by holding stock locally and supporting retailers with that risk, we ‘ve proved consumers are willing to invest in higher price points and higher-quality outdoor toys.”

Speaking of quality, the Bikes category is set to benefit this year from the arrival of Huffy. A renowned household brand in the US, Huffy bikes arrived in the UK in late 2021 thanks to a deal with United Wheels, and this year the range is to be expanded with the Disney, Marvel and Lucas Film licence for bikes and kid-powered ride-ons. Jon Tilley, general manager/director EMEA at United Wheels, says Huffy invests heavily in licensed bikes and aims to create key details that make them stand out. The Huffy Mandalorian bike, for example, boasts a handlebar-mounted Mandalorian mask and features throughout the frame that draw they eye and provide excitement for kids. This approach to authentic branding is seen across the full-range of licensed products, spanning Frozen II, Disney Princess, Cars, Spider-Man and Avengers.

“Our parent company in the US has a longstanding relationship with Disney, so this agreement is a great opportunity for us to continue this for the UK and wider EU markets,” says Jon. “Licensed products, particularly Disney, are very popular. At present there’s a huge demand for Spider-Man products due to the launch of the recent film. Kids predominantly want bikes and toys with their favourite characters on them, and Huffy Disney bikes are designed with this in mind, to encourage them to get outside and get active.”

Other licensed outdoor toys for this year include Flair’s Messi football training range, perfect for the young football enthusiast in need of at-home training; Wilton Bradley’s Ducati motorcycle ride-on and Zuru’s X-Shot FaZe Clan blasters. Licensing also plays an important role in Geemac’s outdoor toy range. Three years ago, the company partnered with Mattel to develop a line of Fisher Price branded lines. Adam says the partnership and resulting products have resonated with consumers and given them the confidence to get their children bouncing and moving even earlier, which as we know, is key for children's development. The company says ‘massive development’ is underway for spring/summer 2023 based on the success of its Fisher Price lines thus far. Adam says: “We’ve focused very much on the preschool age range, with designs that offer something different but still - and most importantly - fun.”

Iconic household brand Little Tikes is ramping up the fun itself this year with the introduction of exciting new outdoor products such as its Foamo 3-in- 1 Water Table. One that will appeal to parents who remember the foam parties of their youth, the table features both a bubble machine and a foam machine with a motor. Included with the water table are exciting water play accessories and a Ferris wheel that picks up the foam and spins it around. The brand will also be continuing to offer traditional favourites such as the Turtle Sandbox, First Slide and Cape Cottage.

“Little Tikes will support its core range and growth drivers with a heavyweight strategic communications plan which targets consumers through TV and digital advertising, organic social media as well as targeted media and influencer gifting campaigns,” says Little Tikes’ new senior brand manager for UK and Ireland, Alaina Cornish. “Our digital strategy will continue to support consumers who are looking for play inspiration, creating social video-based content that will demonstrate the Little Tikes product feature. Last year, our viral campaign with LadBaby reached over 14.6m people, and we also enlisted celebrity parents such as Danny Jones to launch our My Real Jam range of instruments for children, with fun engaging content across TikTok and Instagram. We plan to use a similar approach to create special Little Tikes moments this season.”

United Wheels, meanwhile, says it invests heavily in content to ensure it can provide its retailers with the best imagery, videos, graphics and in-store POS materials possible. Assets are available for use on websites, social media channels or the shop floor, and all are designed to enhance the selling potential of products.

“In a time when consumers are more comfortable than ever shopping online, top of the range content is king,” Jon adds. “We therefore work closely with our partners at Disney on its campaigns based upon upcoming movies, and with key influencers and press partners, to bring our products to life and reinforce the joy of riding a Huffy Disney bike.”

Jon continues: “Huffy has a UK distribution facility which stocks a full range of over 70 products, including bikes, ride-ons and scooters that can be delivered straight to store. We also have a comprehensive drop ship programme that allows for extended ranging across all our lines, and a fully staffed office which supports retailers with everything that they could possibly need. From spare parts to digital installation guides and customer service, at Huffy we take a 360 approach to support our retailers and consumers post-sale.”

And at Geemac, while product is allowed to speak for itself on-shelf and major distribution has traditionally been the company’s ‘marketing strategy’, Adam notes the space is ever evolving. He says reminding consumers of Geemac’s brand, innovation and development is key, and that social media plays a huge part of the company’s marketing strategy. He adds: “We have key marketing drives planned throughout the year focused around school holidays and other key summer dates, but we are here to disrupt and want to make as much noise as possible.”

Over the following pages, Toy World brings readers the newest toys that will have kids outdoors, active, playing – and probably making some noise of their own.