Feature - Q1 Ranges

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Q1 is an important juncture, where suppliers and retailers take a step back after the chaos of the holiday season and simultaneously set themselves up for the year to come with a raft of new products and ranges. This month, Caroline Tonks looks at the latest trends and upcoming ranges arriving between Boxing Day and Easter and speaks with leading suppliers about their focuses for Q1, including price points, new launches and bringing customers back into stores.

Q1 is typically a relatively quiet time of year for the toy retail channel, as everyone starts to recover from the hectic Golden Quarter and Christmas boom.

After an initial spike when shoppers look to spend money or vouchers received as gifts, stores generally see a reduction is footfall; customers have just spent large amounts on presents and are avoiding too much in the way of extra spending. However, it is still a critical quarter, establishing a base for the year ahead, with retailers and suppliers looking to draw consumers back in with new launches hitting the shelves.

“This period is crucial as it provides retailers with the opportunity to refresh their shelves and keep momentum going after Christmas,” says Will Collinson, general manager UK and Europe, Zuru. “Q1 capitalises on the need for newness and freshness as consumers recover from the post-Christmas lull, and at the same time, monetary gifts received during the holidays are spent.”

Charlotte Harvey, Bladez Toys’ senior national account manager, agrees, claiming that Q1 ranges are important as customers often come out of the festive period with gift cards to spend. “This offers them something new and exciting that they didn’t get for Christmas and gives them a reason to buy,” says Charlotte. “The post-Christmas period is a great time to launch an extension item to support that big box gift that came under the tree, as well as introduce new styles to collectible ranges.”

“Q1 ranges are essential for driving post-Christmas store traffic by offering fresh products when consumer interest typically wanes,” explains Max Nelson, sales director, Heathside Trading. In his opinion, launching new collections during this quarter helps to maintain momentum from the holidays and attracts customers looking to spend Christmas money.

From a retailer’s perspective, Jon Scrivens of Hamlins Toymaster in Berkhamsted prefers to have a quieter start to the year. “It’s always interesting to see the Q1 range releases trickling through. There’s a slight gap after Christmas, but I think it’s a necessary gap because we’re all trying to catch our breath and figure out what leftover stock we have from the holidays.” Hamlins’ carries out its annual stocktake in January, so not having too many new releases straight away is helpful.

Within the Q1 period, suppliers are releasing brandnew lines, as well as refreshing and expanding previous collections. Most companies look to have a mix of both, to capitalise on as much newness as possible, while taking into account that many purchases are towards the lower end of the price spectrum.

Looking at brand-new ranges, Zimpli Kids has announced the launch of its first partnership with Care Bears – the Care Bears Special Effects Baff Bombz. These Bombz release vibrant colours that swirl around the bath, adding a rainbow twist to bath time. Zimpli is also set to introduce the Care Bears Surprise Baff Bombz, where kids can reveal one of their favourite Care Bears after the fizz.

Baby Republic will distribute Little Brian’s latest launch in Q1 – Flip Sticks. These mess-free paint sticks feature two colours in one stick for endless artistic possibilities. With Flip Sticks, children can switch colours with just a flip, perfect for adding dimension to any art project.

On the opposite side, numerous companies will be expanding their already-existing popular ranges.

“We are fortunate to have some well-established brands in our portfolio, and our focus for Q1 will be to continue to build on these,” says Kirsty Mackenzie, head of Marketing, Bandai UK. “We have lots of exciting introductions across our range with something to appeal to everyone, from pre-schoolers all the way up to grownup kids.”

Following a successful relaunch into the UK market, Bandai UK’s Littlest Pet Shop brand will introduce its third series of new pets during the Q1 period. The Pet Single blind packs and Pet Pairs remain key drivers, along with themed play packs. New Mini Plush Pets and Cuddle Plush Beanie Pets will also be unveiled, expanding the Littlest Pet Shop offering further.

Zuru’s Pets Alive robotic plush pets will see continued growth with accessible and affordable lines. The new Mama Bunny & Baby Surprise set includes sounds, interactive play and the popular unboxing element of discovering baby bunnies, while Furmaids is a new Pets Alive line of collectible interactive capsules, each containing one of three cuddly animal mermaid characters.

Heathside is focusing on a broad range of toys and collectibles in Q1 that span various areas of pop culture. Under its Khadou brand, the company is emphasising lower-priced products, introducing new licences and expanding successful 2024 lines with fresh series and format launches. Its Master Replicas brand is also launching a selection of higher-end premium collections, both online and with retail partners. “In 2025, Heathside is placing a much stronger focus on marketing and digital activations to support its new ranges,” says Max. “While we've relied heavily on the popularity of licences to drive sell-through in the past, we're aware that a focus on a marketing strategy will enhance sales and broaden market coverage. We know there is an effective way of engaging with a broader audience while still benefiting from the cost-effective approaches we've used so far.”

As a result of the success of the awardwinning Real FX Disney Stitch, Wow! Stuff will further develop the emerging Puppetronics category in Q1. New additions will feature a broad range of price points, ensuring accessibility for a wider audience, and introduce new licences that are already fan favourites.

Just Play will also be carrying forward its best-selling lines from the Disney Stitch range, ahead of the live action film that is set for release in 2025. Just Play’s consumers will be able to add to their lineup of Disney Stitch That’s So Stitch figures. Like previous releases, each surprise two-inch figure will come in a pineapple-shaped blind capsule, depicting Stitch or Angel in a new pose.

One For Fun is releasing new and exclusive four-car sets for Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, as well as new F1 kits, F1 dioramas and F1 hauliers. F1’s popularity is driven by the Netflix series, Drive to Survive, and the upcoming movie release of F1, produced by Lewis Hamilton and starring Brad Pitt, set to come out in summer 2025.

As well as Lilo & Stitch, there are a number of other big movie releases from existing franchises in the works, which in turn provide a plethora of possibilities to maximise on licensed toy ranges. Next year is predicted to be huge for the new Jurassic World Rebirth, How To Train Your Dragon and Gabby’s Dollhouse movies. Posh Paws has announced it will be the official plush partner, supporting these releases with current stock available to order now, as well as brand-new movie stock.

“Big movie releases give retailers a lot of opportunities to capitalise on licensed ranges,” explains Jon Scrivens. At Hamlins Toymaster, new action figures are usually a bit slow to get off the ground, but items from new Transformer One ranges have already been performing very well. Paddington is a perpetual favourite for the shop too, and Hamlins is constantly selling licensed plush, especially in the run up to the release of Paddington in Peru.

In Q1, several suppliers will see further expansion of their own licensed ranges. Bladez Toys is bringing enhanced play to many of its most successful ranges for 2025, welcoming new launches like Harry Potter and Minecraft. Following the success of the Harry Potter Make Your Own Creatures range, Bladez will be introducing the all-new Harry Potter Make Your Own Characters. Consumers will have the chance to build their favourite characters from the beloved franchise, made from sustainable materials. “Bladez’s focus for Q1 will be on low priced arts & crafts ranges that drive collectability, such as our Harry Potter Maker Kitz Characters,” says Charlotte. “Kids can buy these with their pocket money, building up the collection over time, and they also make great rainy-day activities at an affordable price.”

Due to the time of the year and the cold weather in the early Q1 months, fun activities that can be enjoyed indoors tend to enjoy a strong resurgence in popularity. “I’ve found that it’s the time of year when people are looking for arts & crafts, traditional board games and even jigsaw puzzles,” explains Jon. “There’s such a wide range to choose from and the Q1 introductions offer something new, fresh and different from the ranges we had just before Christmas.”

For this quieter time of year where budgets are a bit tighter, lower price points, typically in the pocket money area, offer an attractive option to consumers. As Q1 covers the post-Christmas sale period, half term and the run up to Easter, pick-up purchases are a key driver.

As a business, Zuru generally focuses on price points that allow for both high-volume sales and strong margins. “Typically, we live in the £5-£20 range as it strikes a balance between affordability and perceived value, which is key when parents may be more budgetconscious,” says Will. This is Zuru’s year-round approach and the reason why it typically tends to over-index during the first part of the year.

Charlotte concludes: “Bladez’s focus for Q1 will be sub £10 lines, with a handful of lines in the range between £10 and £20. It is important to offer affordability and value for money during the Q1 period. Lower price points allow customers to buy as and when they can and drives the collectability over time.” In past years, Bladez Toys has also noticed that lower priced arts & crafts lines make a great alternative to chocolate eggs at Easter, and this something that the company will be building on in 2025.

Across the following feature, readers will be able to see the latest in Q1 Ranges coming to shelves at the backend of 2024 and early 2025 from a wide array of suppliers.