Allegedly

The Nuremberg Toy Fair has officially announced its dates for 2024. As predicted in last month’s Allegedly column (good to see the old crystal ball is still working), there is a slight change in the date configuration for next year, with the show shifting to a new Tuesday-Saturday format. Personally, I think this will be viewed by the vast majority as an excellent move – it still gives German retailers a weekend day to visit the show, while international visitors will get an extra weekday to go about their business. Some had argued for the weekend to be removed completely from the equation, and while that may yet happen a few years down the line, it wasn’t likely to be implemented straight away. Not only would that have sent the wrong message to the domestic German market about their importance to the show, but it would potentially have cost exhibitors more if the main set-up period fell across the whole weekend. This way, most exhibitors will just have to fly out a day earlier than normal, which should thankfully have minimal impact on the London Toy Fair. Some visitors may choose to do likewise, although flying out on the same day as usual will work just as well for many. Either way, any potential disruption or impact on London has been kept to a minimum, which can only be a good thing. Indeed, the tighter turn-round time between the two shows may even encourage a few international (especially US) visitors to stop off in London before heading over to Nuremberg straight after Olympia finishes…

1133 days after it was first introduced, Hong Kong has finally scrapped its mask-wearing mandate. Of course, this being Hong Kong, I gather that the vast majority of locals have continued to wear their masks despite the new relaxed rules and the threat of huge fines no longer hanging over them. I am sure that will change over time, but nevertheless, it’s good to hear that one of the last remaining barriers to international travel (albeit a fairly flimsy one, in truth) has been removed. Come October - and certainly by next January - we will get to see whether the global toy community chooses to rekindle its long-term fondness for doing business in Hong Kong, or whether the world has moved on...

Argos has announced the closure of two major depots and the old Milton Keynes office. To some, it seems that Argos is being dismantled before our very eyes - I received several messages to that effect after the move was announced. Although I completely understand that perspective, maybe the toy community needs to let go of the past and accept that Argos is a very different account these days. Its turnover may be fraction of what it once was, but I am led to believe that it is actually making a profit now, which was apparently not always the case in its glory days…

Sainsbury’s has announced that it will be introducing a four-day working week trial, which will include head office staff. The three month trial is said to be aimed at “improving flexibility”, although some suppliers are concerned that they may now find it even harder to speak to buyers than they did before. It will be interesting to see how it works in practice…

Lego unveiled a stellar set of financial results last month, with sales and profit growing in a challenging trading environment in 2022. Given its significant increases across the globe in markets down by low single-digits, it would be interesting to see what those market numbers would have looked like with Lego stripped out…

There has been some low level grumbling within the UK toy community about over-ambitious (some have even used the word ‘ludicrous’…) targets being set by certain international parent companies. There is absolutely nothing wrong with aspiration and wanting to maximise revenue, but it’s important to make targets realistic and align them with prevailing economic conditions and, frankly, reality. Taking everything into consideration, the toy industry performed remarkably well in the face of some challenging conditions last year. Of course, some did better than others. But setting impossible targets – especially if that’s in conjunction with slashing marketing budgets – is only to going to end one way. Maybe it’s time for a reality check for some boardroom warriors who are perhaps a little disconnected from what’s happening out on the front line in other territories…

Hasbro recently launched one of the most ambitious marketing campaigns we’re likely to see in the first half of the year, offering consumers 50% cashback (up to £50) when they buy a Hasbro game. A retail-wide initiative, it’s good to see all retailers – brick and mortar and online alike – being given the chance to benefit from such a bold campaign. Time was when this sort of activation would have been given to one retailer as an exclusive, so full marks to Hasbro for allowing the whole toy retail channel to be involved…

I was reminded recently about the chasm between the British and American senses of humour. Apparently, I was completely misquoted in a Circana (formerly NPD) US presentation last month, where it was suggested that I thought 2022 was a boring year. When I was told this by one of the attendees, I was rather taken aback, as it is the polar opposite of what I actually think. It transpired that at the start of a podcast I took part in just before Christmas with some of my US media counterparts, they asked how 2022 had been and – dripping with sarcasm – I replied: “Another boring year, eh?” They laughed, so they got the joke (i.e. it was anything but boring…). Unfortunately, it seems I need to hold up a sign saying ‘irony alert’ in future (which is tough when it is a sound-only podcast…), as someone at NPD took the comment literally and quoted it verbatim as ‘evidence’ that the toy market wasn’t innovating. Heck no, that’s categorically not true. I am genuinely excited about so much I have seen for this year, and there was plenty of good new stuff around last year too. Whatever challenges we are facing as a community across the globe, they’re largely as a result of economic pressure way beyond our control, not anything we are or aren’t doing. So just in case you think I have turned into The Grinch, I wanted to put the record straight: I am – and always will be – a passionate advocate for the toy community. Remember, I used to work on ‘Plates n Sh*t’ – the world of toys is never boring.