From the Publisher

After a long, languid summer, everything feels like it has kicked up a gear – or indeed, several gears – over the past few weeks. Kids are now back at school; rush hour traffic is back to its frustrating worst and the number of ‘out of office’ notifications has dropped sharply (that is until half the UK toy community headed off to LA last month…). Basically, the annual white-knuckle ride of the so-called ‘Golden Quarter’ is about to begin.

The big question right now is inevitably “how are retailers feeling ahead of the autumn winter period?” Did they manage to clear most of their summer stock? Has that left them with a decent amount of budget to spend to keep on top of what’s selling? Can they secure the levels of stock they need on the lines they want to get behind? For the major accounts, is the trading controller bullish on toys and is the FD comfortable with the balance between current levels of stock and Q4 replenishment plans? Are buyers open to the prospect of opening new accounts or taking in brand new lines at this stage of the year? Do they want to freshen up their product selection, or spend available money on products that are already selling well? Are they willing to take a few risks and make a few cheeky punts – or are they going to play it safe and stick with tried and trusted brands and suppliers? All will become clear very soon.

On the Friday before kids went back to school at the start of September, I popped into our local high street at lunchtime as I often do, and it was absolutely packedcomfortably the busiest day since last Christmas/ New Year. I go into town several times each week just for a screen break and some exercise, so I am highly susceptible to noticing major fluctuations in footfall – and this day represented a massive increase in consumers hitting the stores. Notably, it was only three or four days before term started. There was a time when back-to-school purchase were made gradually across the six-week summer holidays, but this was very much a ‘last-minute buying frenzy.’ I suspect it won’t have been entirely coincidental that many people will have been paid the day before this happened. Based on this, can we expect the festive season to go down to the wire?

In my view, that is a distinct possibility - and with Christmas falling on a Wednesday, plus the likelihood of most people breaking up from work and being paid on the Thursday or Friday of the week before, that’s going to leave quite a few days for consumers to hit the shops and complete their festive purchases – a timeline which also points towards a late burst of activity. Hopefully that surge will be people topping up their present buying activity, rather than leaving everything to the last minute - that is the stuff of nightmares for both retailers and suppliers. We’re already seeing the opening salvos fired by retailers as they jostle for position (and sales). Whether that’s early toy sales (three grocers were running sales simultaneously last month), catalogue launches, social media spats or Christmas ads, despite bright sunshine outside my window as I write this, everyone is gearing up to make consumers feel that Christmas is very much on the horizon. Suppliers’ festive marketing campaigns will also kick in soon, although as this month’s feature suggests, many toy companies are holding fire until as late as possible this year. Turn to page 52 to find out what our panel of media experts is predicting will happen this year, followed by indepth details of the campaigns being run by many of the leading toy companies.

Our other major feature this month focuses on character licensed merchandise. I’m writing this column before heading down to ExCeL for BLE, where the great and the good from the licensing community will be gathering to showcase their key properties for ’25 to licensees and retailers. Our feature will give you a good understanding of which brands are hot right now and heading into next year – and it really is a diverse and fascinating mix of licences, covering all bases from infants through to kidults. The feature starts on page 82.

Away from the features, we have a selection of exclusive interviews and profiles focusing on a number of leading toy retailers, companies and service providers. On the retail front, we spoke to Moonpig about its new partnership with The Entertainer and Early Learning Centre, while NCS explains what makes the business an excellent logistics partner of choice for the toy community. Toy companies in the spotlight this month include MGA Entertainment, Mojo Fun, KandyToys and YuMe Toys – a wonderfully diverse selection of toy companies which are all at the top of their game in their respective fields.

That’s what we aim to bring you at Toy World – all the information you need about the best products, the best toy companies, the best retailers, the best licences and the best support businesses. We know our market inside out, and we have partnerships with the companies that really matter. That’s what makes Toy World the voice of the UK toy industry – and a voice that is increasingly influential across the global toy market too. The things you need to know about, and the things that really matter to the toy community – that’s what Toy World is committed to bringing you. Every day, every month, in print and online. Other magazines are available, but let’s be honest – they don’t come close. And that’s a fact.