Special Feature Toy World 10 year anniversary
The decade surveyed This month, in honour of Toy World’s 10th anniversary, we spoke to a small selection of valued clients and contributors to ask what changes they’ve seen over the past decade – the good, the bad and the ugly – and what impact these have had on the toy industry, their companies and the way they work.
Anita Baulch - Director, Toy World Toy World has developed massively from where we started a decade ago, as we have come up with new ways to shape the publication and deliver quality articles and content to our readers. From a basic blueprint, we are proud to have introduced significant changes to the trade press; often imitated, never duplicated. What looked like being the worst thing to hit the toy trade – the Covid-19 pandemic – actually made us focus even more and work harder and smarter. It was gratifying to see how everyone pulled together to help each other out, from our own team to the various companies we deal with throughout the industry. It will be a while before life returns completely to normal, but we now know that determination and hard work can overcome most things. Having said that, the businesses which folded, and any job losses, are some of the worst things to have happened in the industry, coupled with seeing friends and colleagues suffer illness and loss, which is terrible. The best changes? Seeing so many more women in pivotal positions throughout the toy trade and nobody commenting on their gender anymore. Even the Fence Club is catching up. In media terms, online has increased in importance to underpin almost everything we do, meaning we can get news out quickly and efficiently, stay in touch with our community of readers and extend our reach, all without taking away from the glory of a print magazine. The retail landscape has changed dramatically over ten years, but as one retailer shuts up shop, another opens or expands. It’s the same with suppliers. Buying cycles have shortened, with a knock-on effect on product previews, trade shows and production, and it is more important than ever to keep buyers informed about all of the above. A combination of changing consumer habits and enforced situations like Brexit or the pandemic have driven the industry to become much more nimble. Because we’ve seen this is achievable, it can be exasperating when we come across companies who haven’t embraced such positive developments…yet. Personally, the toy industry has brought a great deal of fun and excitement into my life, from agreeing to spend our savings on an exciting dream John had, to coming out of stay-at-home-mum retirement to join the brilliant Toy World team and rejoin an industry I love.
Mark Buschaus and Stephen Barnes - Toy Barnhaus Over the last decade, we’ve witnessed the rapid growth of online, and this has only accelerated over the previous 18 months. However, customers still very much want to come and enjoy visiting a toy shop, so there is still a market for us. We’ve also seen big changes in the way products are marketed and how many kids now view things on YouTube, as well as how quickly a craze can arise due to the ubiquity of the internet. Our business has had to adapt constantly, and our online presence is probably the biggest change over the past few years. Online is now a key part of our business and has changed how we buy products; there are big differences between in-store and online, and what sells where. After the last 18 months, the best thing to have happened to our company in the past 10 years is the fact we’re still here! We love what we do - supporting over 80 staff, selling toys and making our customers happy. We have loved being part of Toy World. I think we have been writing the monthly Indie Viewpoint column for nine years now. It was great to be asked to become a Toy World regular, and to help contribute to the toy industry in some way. There is always something to talk about. The magazine landing on our desk is always one of the highlights of the month and, with the lack of toy shows, has proven to be especially valuable over the last 18 months.
Toy World 64
