From the Publisher

Now that the dust has settled from Toy Fair Season, the toy community is in the process of working through the mountain of follow up from all the shows – but it’s good to take a moment to reflect on what happened back in January.

If you were there, you will know that this year’s London Toy Fair was a great success. The show celebrated its 70th anniversary this year, and it is testament to the affection in which the fair is held by the UK toy community that it’s still seen as a ‘must attend’ event.

This year, there was a palpable buzz from beginning to end – even the last day, traditionally something of an anti-climax, was perhaps the busiest Thursday I can remember. And it was certainly not just because it was designated as influencers’ day – as I made my way around my last day appointments, I saw numerous retail buying teams still fully engaged. Indeed, I gather that one very senior figure from ‘the largest’ UK & Ireland toy retailer told a few people that she could do with a 4th day of the show to get round everyone she wanted to see. I have been saying this for years (and I appreciate no-one is going to be swayed by me), but it’s interesting to hear that some major buyers are beginning to come to the same conclusion.

Pretty much every UK retailer you would expect to be at Olympia was present and correct, while the mood was surprisingly positive, given the news announced by Circana on opening day that the UK market was down by -5% last year, in line with both France and Germany (with the US market even further down at -8%). You might have thought that would put a dampener on things, but with 2023 firmly in the rear-view mirror, if you can’t be optimistic and excited about the year ahead at this stage of proceedings, with all the new products about to launch and retailers having a blank canvas to work with, then when can you be?

I used the word ‘community’ quite a lot leading up to Toy Fair, as I really do believe that is one of the unique aspects of the show, and a perfect description of the people who work in the UK toy trade. It’s a close-knit, friendly group who (mostly) share the same goals and aspirations – and face many of the same challenges and curveballs. But if we do that together, I always believe there is more chance of overcoming them.

Overall, the general mood in the UK toy community continues to be one of cautious optimism for the year ahead. We’re collectively a little bit battered and bruised after last year, but ready to go again. Unsurprisingly, there are challenges ahead, including elections in the UK and US, with the latter in

particular set to have a seismic impact on the global geo-political landscape if the unthinkable actually happens (and it looks like it just might…), plus several global conflicts and the ongoing situation in the Red Sea, with the Houthi rebels seemingly undeterred by the recent actions of the US and UK air forces. All completely beyond our control of course, but capable of throwing some sizeable curveballs into the mix. The resilience of the toy community is going to be tested, but we’ve passed that test with flying colours before, and I am sure we will again.

From Toy World’s perspective, we had three team members experiencing their first-ever Toy Fair, and it was wonderful to hear them enthusing about who they had met and what they had seen at dinner every evening. We all saw a host of fantastic new product and spent invaluable time talking to our customers and readers. I would say that is three days incredibly well-spent. Massive congratulations to the BTHA team and all of the other support organisations that have once again delivered such a successful event.

Following hot on the heels of London Toy Fair, Nuremberg gave the toy community another chance to meet up, review line plans and finalise selections for the year ahead – only this time it was the global toy community rather than mainly UK participants, and the distances between meetings saw everyone’s step counts explode. Once again we saw a wealth of compelling new products, although having signed multiple NDAs, we still can’t share some of the great things we were shown just yet. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we can talk about them, although I am not breaking any embargoes in saying that Stitch was everywhere (literally), while if you didn’t know what an Axolotl was before, you certainly will now.

Thank you to everyone who made time in their busy schedules to see the Toy World team in both London and Nuremberg. We know you’re there to see retailers first and foremost, but we appreciate the opportunity to catch up and see all the great new lines we are going to be writing about in the coming months. That process starts this month, with our reviews of both the London and Nuremberg Toy Fairs, along with the first product category features of the year – Outdoor Toys, Action Vehicles and Science & Nature. If you are looking for some new lines to freshen up your offering in any of these sectors, there are plenty of new launches vying for your attention showcased in this edition. I hope we can give you some inspiration as to which new lines to add to your shelves or online listings – and having visited hundreds of stands in London and Nuremberg, I know there is plenty more for us to unveil over the coming months. 2024 is up and running…