Toyworld apr 2016

April 2016 volume 5 issue 7

April 2016 volume 5 issue 7

The business magazine with a passion for toys

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CONTENTS April 2016 volume 5 issue 7

John Baulch

Publisher and Managing Editor john@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 408 07932 651 207

35 Pre-school toys

68 Face to Face: Tomy

Mark Austin

Advertisement Manager mark@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 405

Graeme Thomas

Production Manager graeme@toyworldmag.co.uk 07792 889 919

News

Opinion

Features

05 From the Publisher

24 Face to Face: AIS

31 Fresh

06 News

27 Talking Shop

35 Pre-school toys

14 Industry Moves

30 NPD column

58 Brand Profile: Bandai

16 Marketing World

68 Face to Face: Tomy

60 Pre-school licensing

20 Licensing World

79 Face to Face: Click

70 Toy Trust

Distribution

72 Pocket money toys and

82 Viewpoint

Anita Baulch

Circulation Manager anita@toyworldmag.co.uk 01923 711 439

Contributors

collectibles

84 Lutz Muller

86 Games and puzzles

94 Touching Base

106 Company Profile: Puzzles and Play

116 Allegedly

David Ripley | Andy Clempson | Ruth Clement | The NPD Group | Martin Doyle | Lutz Muller | Mark Buschhaus | Stephen Barnes

Clarabel Jones

Editorial Assistant clarabel@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 406

72 Pocket money toys and collectibles

86 Games and puzzles

Jonika Kinchin

Editorial Assistant jonika@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 407

toyworld The business magazine with a passion for toys

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Symbio Place, Whiteleaf Road Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP3 9PH

www.toyworldmag.co.uk @toyworldmag @baulchtweet

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Toy World Magazine

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from the publisher

John Baulch - @Baulchtweet

fter the deluge of major news items last month, a sense of post-Toy Fair season calm has descended on the market.

Major retailers have spent the past month in autumn winter selection mode, with suppliers nervously awaiting the outcome of their deliberations, which are now in the process of being communicated. Independent retailers, meanwhile, are out of the traps and running, and whilst it has been suggested that February sales didn’t quite match January’s positive start to the year, a number of promising new ranges are already beginning to emerge as strong sellers.

Easter fell particularly early in the calendar this year, and as several independent retailers have pointed out in this month’s Talking Shop column, it came round so quickly that many of them didn’t have the chance to organise quite as many events or promotions as they normally would. Also, the belief that Easter often heralds the advent of better weather, thus kick-starting sales of outdoor toys, was perhaps a little optimistic when it occurs this early in the calendar. Nevertheless, with health - and in particular childhood obesity - back in the headlines after the budget saw the announcement of a sugar tax, maybe some parents and grandparents chose to give their children money rather than chocolate this Easter – and if that proved to be the case, hopefully some of that money was spent on toys instead.

The big story of the month has been the ongoing saga of the potential acquisition of Argos by Sainsburys. After rival suitor Steinhoff pulled out of the race at the eleventh hour, it left the grocer as the sole bidder. At the time of going to press, there is no further news as to whether the bid is likely to succeed or be rebuffed. I know everyone concerned will say it’s ‘business as usual’, but the uncertainty is likely to be having an impact on a number of levels and I’m sure a decision can’t come soon enough for all concerned.

This month’s bumper issue of Toy World focuses on a couple of the industry’s broadest and most enduring product categories. First up is our annual focus on the Pre-School sector, which by all accounts has got off to

For updates & more information visit www.funfestuk.com or email info@miprglobal.co.uk the UK’s leading family-friendly blogger conference and brand ambassador exhibition

Saturday 10th September 2016

a very strong start to the year, especially the licensed Pre-School area. Our second major feature covers the Games & Puzzles market, which is another category on a high after the ubiquitous Pie-Face was awarded Toy of the Year for 2015. In the past, whenever a game has won the industry’s highest accolade, it has had a halo effect on the whole category in the following year, so hopes are high for another strong performance from the sector in 2016.

There is certainly no shortage of new product being introduced in both the Games & Puzzles and Pre-School sectors this year, as you will see from the size of the respective features.

In addition, this month’s edition also includes a look at the ever-changing Pocket Money Collectibles market, as well as an exclusive interview with Tomy’s newlyappointed executive vice president Europe, Mark Foster. Having joined Tomy just under a year ago, this is Mark’s first high profile interview, and he certainly has some interesting things to say about the company and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

We also speak to AIS’s head of toys and children’s gifts Miles Penhallow, ahead of the Independent Toy and Gift Show which opens its doors on 12th April. Together with next month’s Toymaster Show, these two events provide an excellent opportunity for independent retailers to place orders for the festive season, and for suppliers – and indeed industry observers such as ourselves - to get a sense of how trade is shaping up. The Toy World team will be out in force at both events, so if you would like to meet up with us during either show, feel free to drop us an email or call us.

If you’re between jobs at the moment, or looking for a new challenge, the Toy World website currently features more job vacancies than it ever has: in fact, we had to reconfigure the home page of our website to accommodate all the recruitment advertisements. I view this as a positive sign: toy companies tend not to take on new staff and create new roles if business isn’t looking promising.

We’ll be back next month with what can only be described as an exhaustive Preview of the Toymaster show. If you are exhibiting at the event and haven’t yet confirmed your participation in this important issue, there is still time to get involved - our contact details are on the contents page.

news

The toy trade’s no.1 resource for news and analysis

Kidtropolis comes to London

The consumer event will make its debut at London’s Excel in October half term.

The event will allow families to immerse themselves in a range of activities, to purchase on site and to enjoy unique brand experiences. With no events currently like this in the UK, Kidtropolis is set to become the must-have event for all kids and family related brands.

The event, spearheaded by Simon Pilling, Toy Fair’s ex director of operations and creator of Toytopia, and Gemma Gallagher, owner of the consumer platform ToyTesters.tv, will enable brands to engage with their consumers in the run-up to the pre-Christmas period.

Simon Pilling, managing director at Kidtropolis, said: “I wanted to create a magical event for both consumers and brands, encompassing not only things that children and families would find interesting, but a range of experiences that families would never encounter anywhere else all under one roof. It makes sense to include this opportunity to ‘all things kids’ in the heart of the UK; in the capital of England.”

Gemma Gallagher, director of brand relations at Kidtropolis, added: “Connecting with consumers is the most important thing for a brand.

Kidtropolis will enable toy companies, licensors, licensees and all things family the opportunity to create brand ambassadors in the run up to Christmas. I’m really excited about bringing this unique proposition to the UK and enabling brands to engage two fold; with parents and children.”

Further announcements will be made in the coming weeks.

Trod appoints proposed administrator Trod Limited and its subsidiary 247 Toys has issued a notice of intent to appoint a proposed administrator. This arrangement is slightly different to an administration, in that it allows for a proposed administrator to work with the company for a period of approximately two weeks. During this period the proposed administrator will review the company’s stock and trading position, attempting to produce a solution to the benefit of all creditors and employees of the company.

However, suppliers have been warned to stop all deliveries immediately.

Toy World understands that Toymaster has paid all undisputed invoices to its suppliers on time and will continue to do so. A report has been produced by Toymaster, which outlines the company’s financial position and reassures the trade that Toymaster will not be unduly affected by this development. To read the full report go to the Toy World website.

Character Options cofounders to receive BTHA Lifetime Achievement Awards

Richard King, Joe Kissane, Jon Diver and Kiran Shah will each receive the prestigious BTHA Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming part of an exclusive group of Lifetime Achievement Awards winners.

This award is presented in exceptional circumstances to individuals who have made an outstanding and significant contribution to the toy industry. To be eligible to be recognised for a BTHA Lifetime Achievement Award, an individual must have facilitated positive and sustained change in the toy industry and be an inspirational achiever who is widely acknowledged to have made a fundamental and beneficial impact on the sector over the long term. The individual must be recognised as a leading figure within the industry, and have demonstrated an extraordinary level of commitment, passion and integrity throughout their career.

Phil Ratcliffe, BTHA chairman, commented: “The BTHA council believed the four founding members of Character Group fulfil the criteria of the Lifetime Achievement Award perfectly. They have made a significant contribution to the UK toy industry and through their entrepreneurial spirit have established Character Group to be the largest UK based toy company which also operates on an international stage.”

Jon Diver, joint managing director of Character Group, added: “On behalf of myself, Joe, Richard and Kiran we are both honoured and delighted to have been chosen to receive the BTHA Lifetime Achievement Award. We are all equally looking forward to receiving the awards and celebrating what promises to be a great occasion at this year’s Industry Day at Great Fosters.”

The presentation will be made following the Toy Industry Day at Great Fosters Hotel on 29th June.

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Toy World 06

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Trunki firm loses Supreme Court case

Magmatic, which sells Trunki suitcases, has lost the court case with a rival over product design.

The company protested that PMS International’s Kiddee Case range infringed registered design rights.

However Supreme Court judges have now ruled against Magmatic, after analysing the case at a hearing in November 2015.

Paul Beverley, founder and MD of PMS International, commented: “We always try to work within the law and successive courts have agreed that there is no way our popular Kiddee Case can be mistaken for any other product. In reality we are operating in very different markets from our rivals and we have never been competing for the same customer base.”

Trunki CEO and founder, Rob Law, said: “We are devastated and bewildered by this judgement, not just for ourselves but for the huge wave of uncertainty it brings to designers across Britain. We created an original product in Trunki and protected it by computer generated registered design – a process used to protect a third of designs across Europe. In my honest opinion, Trunki was wilfully ripped off. We stood up to this behaviour, held it to account and took our case all the way to the highest court in the land – only for the judges to rule that we are not protected against the copy. They’re effectively sending knights into battle without armour. The law is meant to be about certainty, but this decision will create chaos and confusion among Britain’s design community, who have relied on a pan-European right which has been in place since 2002. There is meant to be parity across Europe. But this decision puts British designers at a distinct disadvantage from our European counterparts, whose Courts have a far more robust approach to infringement.”

@toyworldmag

John Adams identified in London Stock Exchange’s 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain

The report is a celebration of the UK’s fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium sized businesses. To be included in the list, companies needed to show consistent revenue growth over a minimum of three years, significantly outperforming industry peers.

With nearly 50 years trading history, John Adams is a highly successful, multi-category company, synonymous with the development and marketing of innovative toys and games. Its diverse portfolio incorporates many nostalgic and established brands, including Rubik’s, Rummikub, Disney, Fuzzy-Felt, Tiny Tears, Girl’s World, Ideal Games, John Adams Creative Play, Action Science, Intex Pools and Spas.

Following a successful MBO which was led by Simon Pilkington in 2009, John Adams has enjoyed significant year on year growth, leading to the company also being awarded the prestigious accolade of The Toy Industry Awards Supplier of the Year for 2013.

Simon Pilkington, managing director of John Adams, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been recognised within the 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain for 2016. Our company has successfully evolved over the past six years, as we continue to expand our position within the UK toy market. The company consists of a talented team of people whose strengths and skills complement each other and combine to drive the company forwards. It’s an exciting time for John Adams and there are solid plans in place to ensure our continued growth and expansion both in the UK and internationally for the foreseeable future.”

Generation Media launches The Media Aggregator

The company has launched a new bespoke media planning tool in order to answer key questions posed by advertisers, such as “At what point should we use other media to support TV?” and “At what level should we invest in support media?”

TV remains the medium of choice for toys and games advertisers in the UK, with over 90% of media budgets invested in the medium during 2015. Given the increased ownership of tablets and other mobile devices, distraction is also on the rise. Advertisers should therefore be looking to support TV with other media, and in particular, online media. The answer to how much should be invested in support media is not straightforward, and each brand or product will have its own solution. To make finding the appropriate solution easier, Generation Media has developed The Media Aggregator.

The Media Aggregator is designed to assess a suite of objectives and KPIs versus the budget and seasonality of a campaign, in order to determine a sensible and cost effective investment plan for a campaign incorporating support media alongside TV. To find out how you should be investing this autumn/winter season, book a consultation with Generation Media via contact@generationmedia.co.uk or by calling 0207 307 7900.

Specialist Traders in all Licensed Merchandise Buying We are interested in offers for any licensed merchandise, branded toys & games. End of line licenses always of interest.

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Toy World 08

With over 750 SKUs of licensed toys, gifts, games and even clothing, we are the perfect one stop shop.

We are especially supportive of bricks and mortar business and hold many items in significant quantity.

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newsanalysis Creating a buzz Clarabel Jones spoke to Sandra Patterson, director at Kids Bee Happy, about how the company plans to develop this year with its Sand Art products.

Tell us a little bit about the company and how it has evolved?

Kids Bee Happy has been involved with Sand Art for four years, providing products in experiencebased activities and working with some of the UK’s biggest holiday companies. We had such a good response with many customers wanting to take a pack home, taking us along the path of retail products. We come to the retail sphere as a company which has generated all of its revenue for the past few years from an experience-based activity. This means we have spent four years face to face with the end customer, not just when we sell products but also when they are creating and playing with them.

What are the key attributes of the product range?

Sand Painting involves no glue and very little mess. The printed pictures have peelable sections, which reveal a sticky surface underneath. Coloured sand is sprinkled onto each section and the excess shaken off to reveal a neat finish.

What makes your product stand out from the crowd?

One of the best things about Sand Painting is that it engages with such a wide audience.

When adults think of sand, they tend to think of pre-schoolers, but the beauty of Sand Painting is that it appeals to everyone. Sand Painting is a hands-on traditional craft activity which is engaging but also very calming. It’s amazing how many parents come back and tell us that they couldn’t believe how long their children sat and created their pictures.

What success have you had in the toy market so far?

The boxed retail products have only been available for a couple of weeks so far, and we’re already overwhelmed by the demand. It’s interesting to see that some of the classic franchises, such as Finding Nemo and Planes, have been high sellers, highlighting the interest in the activity itself rather than the pictures. Of course, Disney’s Frozen remains the best-selling range.

What do you do that separates you from other suppliers?

Our company’s employees and representatives spend plenty of time face to face with our customers as they are using and enjoying Sand Painting. This gives us the benefit of immediate direct feedback, and the partnerships we have with holiday companies also help drive this. So, although Sand Painting is new to the toy retail sector, it’s a proven product. We truly are a customer centric organisation, and we’re also the only company in the UK that specialises in Sand Art. How are you planning on growing your business further in 2016?

2016 is focused on building our retail customers base, and then expanding internationally with the activity-based products, readying those markets for the introduction of retail products. We have some fantastic premium and impulse lines in the pipeline, and we will continue to expand the brands and licences that we work with to increase the product range for older children. An adult version of the product is also in the pipeline, expanding on the popularity that we’ve seen this year of adults’ colouring books.

Toy World 10

@toyworldmag

Worlds Apart sympathises with Trunki over court ruling

Simon Birchenough, chairman at Worlds Apart, contacted Toy World with his thoughts over the recent Supreme Court ruling which saw Trunki defeated in its bid to block rival Kiddee Case from being sold in the UK. He said: “Over 15 years ago, I stepped off a flight to find 12 missed calls on my mobile. We were awaiting the judgement of a high profile patent infringement trial in the High Court, so it was with some trepidation that I listened to the multiple messages. Having sunk well over £1m in legal costs over the previous three years, not to mention a huge amount of management time, the loss of the case was devastating, so I can imagine only too well what Rob Law and his team at Magmatic are going through. I only hope that like us, they can put the matter behind them and refocus on growing the business by developing more great products.

But it does bring into stark focus the challenges of launching new products in an industry that has been known to take “short cuts” in the R&D process. Trunki is a great idea, and that was the problem – great ideas in themselves are very difficult to completely protect, unless there is an inventive step with significant novelty, upon which the idea is dependent. In which case a patent is possible, but they are expensive and can take years to go to grant.

As we develop new products and categories at Worlds Apart, the strength of any potential IP is a major consideration as we strive to own and maintain these new categories for many years. But the IP is only as strong as your confidence and ability to defend it – Worlds Apart spends well into six figures every year on defensive IP initiatives, both home and abroad, with four successful actions just in the last 12 months.

This proactive approach, along with speed to market, global distribution, lowest cost manufacturing and third party licensing will hopefully continue to keep the copyists at bay.

But we applaud Magmatic for having the will and confidence to defend a great idea, and despite the adverse outcome this time, I sincerely hope we’d both do the “right thing” again next time.”

Playteachers scoops Bizziebaby Bronze Award 2016

Playteachers provides all the props needed to run a classroom including a teacher’s register, certificates, stickers, a traffic light poster, charts, a dry wipe whiteboard and pen.

The new role-play game has beaten off competition to win the Bizziebaby award.

Frazer Moyes, creator of Playteachers, said: “Playteachers’ key features are that it is fun, encourages imaginative play, builds confidence, helps advance verbal and listening skills and is ideally suited to all children who want to be the teacher.”

Retailers interested in stocking Playteachers can find the range on Amazon’s online catalogue, at www.playteachers.com or can contact Frazer Moyes on 07817997713 and at playteachers@hotmail.com.

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Toy suppliers express concern over ongoing currency situation

Despite a positive start to the year for many toy suppliers and retailers, concerns are growing that the continuing fall of sterling against the dollar will present major challenges to the UK toy community as the year progresses.

Most suppliers will have set their UK price list at the end of last year using a rate of $1.50 to the £1, only to find it losing ground quickly in the New Year due to political instability and a shift towards the safe haven of the dollar. The current exchange rate is just below $1.40 – a swing of around 6.5% – but fears are growing that if the slide continues, it could easily fall to the $1.30 mark, while there have even been suggestions that it could even drop as low as $1.20 by the end of the year. If that were to happen, the 20% drop would have a major impact on profitability throughout the supply chain.

While some suppliers have mitigated the short-term effect by forward buying currency, that approach can only work for so long. One supplier told Toy World that he was covered for the first half of the year, but by the time Christmas shipments need to be paid for, that buffer will be removed.

Another supplier told Toy World: “It is making the process of quoting for autumn/winter something of a lottery. Luckily for us we export and transact some direct import to customers in the UK in US$ so we can recirculate the profits, but for those purely in the UK distribution game, the pressure to increase prices must be high.”

Suppliers have told Toy World that some multiple toy retailers have used the falling oil price and exchange rate benefits that Chinese factories are enjoying to ask for reduced prices, but those suppliers are reiterating that it’s impossible for them to obtain reductions from the factories. One supplier commented: “First of all, there is only a very small relationship between the price of resin and the cost of a finished toy. In addition, factories refer us to the difficulties they are experiencing in keeping staff; they are having to pay higher wages and there are higher welfare costs as a result of ICTI. Personally I think that setting minimum certified standards for worker welfare is a good thing, but there is undoubtedly an ongoing cost to the implementation of this process.”

However, it isn’t just suppliers who are affected by the currency situation: even on the direct import side margins are coming under severe pressure, since retailers are faced by the same problems as suppliers.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing for all concerned is that the industry has absolutely no control over the exchange rate, and therefore can only watch and react as the situation unfurls. But expect currency to be a hot topic across the whole toy market for the foreseeable future.

@toyworldmag

The Entertainer showcases the wonder of 3D printing

The retailer has introduced a 3D printing experience to its store in Amersham. Working with the Cube 3 Printer to test the concept, children will be given the opportunity to style and create a personalised name key ring for £2.50.

This pilot programme, in partnership with Stratify. me and 3D Systems, ties in with the company’s commitment to STEM, bringing 3D printing to life, allowing children to watch as this cutting edge technology kicks into gear. Youngsters will see layers of material form to create their name in the colour and font of their choice.

Phil Geary, marketing and e-commerce director at The Entertainer, commented: “We’re delighted to be trialling this new and innovative product in Amersham. We are already looking at the potential to work with licensors in the hope that we can roll-out this exciting opportunity across more of our stores in the future.”

Obituary: Paul Caspari

Paul began his career in the toy trade in 1946, when he cofounded Robenau Ltd, which became a huge name in the toy industry as a result of Paul’s drive and enthusiasm. Everyone who worked with Paul found him to be a very straightforward, honest person who always stuck to his word. He has also been widely described as “a true gentleman”.

From the 1950s through to At Lord’s celebrating his 93rd birthday the 80s Robenau was one of the major players in the toy industry. In 1986, Paul sold Robenau to William Baird plc, an industrial conglomerate specialising in the clothing industry. He remained Chairman and then a consultant for some time afterwards. In the early 1990s William Baird sold Robenau to a buy-in led by 23rd December 1922 - 12th March 2016 Kevin Jones, who left Mattel to run the business and the name was changed to FEVA and subsequently Spin Master.

Paul Caspari died unexpectedly but peacefully at home.

Paul and his wife Marietta enjoyed over 60 years of happy marriage until He lived life to the full until the end.

Marietta’s death in 2012 following aPaul long during which Paul devotedly was illness, a man of infi nite wisdom, energy, determination and integrity.

He was a loving and devoted husband who was adored by family and places, friends and admired by every cared for her. Over the last three years, Paul continued travelling to new colleague or ‘customer’ he encountered. He was an inspiration and our hero. including taking the Trans-Siberian Express from Moscow to Vladivostok and We would love it if you can join us for a Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving to celebrate Paul’s life. visiting Iran in 2015. He only returned few weeks agoGardens, from aStanmore, three-week St John’saChurch, Old Rectory Middlesex HA7 2QX Tuesday 29th March at 3.00pm holiday in Sri Lanka with his brother.

Afterwards, everyone is invited to tea chez Newman at Green Lawns, Royston Grove, Pinner, HA5 4HF. Our thoughts are with all Paul’s family at this very sad time, including his A close family funeral will take place that morning at Breakspear Crematorium. children, Jo and Andrew and his four grandchildren , Stephanie, Claudia, Will Dress with a splash of colour if you feel inclined! and Kate.

Paul Caspari

Much love Jo Newman and Andrew Caspari

jnewman@nlcs.org.uk 020 8428 4436 or 07802 959723

andrew.caspari@bbc.co.uk 020 7359 0515 or 07711 063415

Interplay announces Disney TV sponsorship deal

No flowers please but donations would be appreciated to the Alzheimer’s Society or The Fence Club Charitable Trust

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c/o Leverton & Sons Ltd, 212 Eversholt Street, London NW1 1BD The company’s new My Fairy Garden range will sponsor the Fairy Tale Hour on Disney Junior for three months during the summer holiday period.

The Fairy Tale Hour features some of the most popular shows on the TV channel such as Sofia the First and Disney Fairies, meaning the campaign is going to deliver a considerable level of awareness for the My Fairy Garden brand.

Interplay’s UK marketing manager, Meric Pekcan-Butcher, said: “We identified Disney Junior as the perfect platform for us to reach our target audience. This sponsorship campaign will enable us to emotionally engage with the children, and we believe this is an important step towards building the brand.”

My Fairy Garden has been developed to help encourage children to interact with nature. The brand is being promoted with a multi-channel marketing campaign to ensure a great level of brand awareness.

Toy World 12

Blade® Zeyrok™ Drone RTF w/Camera (BLH7360) RTF (BLH7300) BNF (BLH7380)

The Blade Zeyrok drone is a versatile quadcopter the beginner pilot can’t beat. Designed with a lightweight unibody airframe and an internal motor-drive system that’s practically maintenance-free, taking a beating is actually one of its remarkable abilities. But the expertly tuned SAFE™ technology and flight modes engineered into the flight controller make flying this drone so easy, you’ll have no trouble keeping it together. And with three versions to choose from—RTF, BNF and RTF with a removable HD camera—it’s easy to find the one that’s right for you.

Available with removable remote controlled 720p/1.3MP camera with landing skids.

Blade products are available from all good model shops. For details of your nearest dealer look on our website horizonhobby.co.uk, contact us by telephone: 44(0)1279 641097, or by email: sales@horizonhobby.co.uk. ©2015 Horizon Hobby, LLC. Blade, Inductrix, SAFE, the SAFE logo, Serious Fun and the Horizon Hobby logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Horizon Hobby, LLC. All other trademarks, service marks and logos are property of their respective owners. Actual product may vary slightly from photos shown. 52010

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industry moves Vivid restructures its R&D function The company has announced several key personnel changes within its R&D department. The changes are to support continued growth and investment in its in-house product development and growing international business.

As part of the company strategy to bolster design resource, Fi Murray has been promoted to the newly created role of principal creative reporting to James Wing, R&D manager, where she will be responsible for identifying and exploiting new product opportunities and trends. Her role will also include driving brand extensions and Vivid IP. Ross Coffield has also been promoted to senior design engineer. Ross has proven himself to be a very capable engineer, product designer and project manager, having provided innovative features and solutions on several of Vivid’s high profile brands including Animagic, Fungus Amungus and Thunderbirds.

Vivid has recruited Lauren Mayor to join the team as product designer. Lauren joins from Tomy where she worked on Lamaze, and whilst at Fuse, worked on Sophia the First and Vivid’s Crayola items.

James Wing, Vivid’s R&D manager, commented: “These changes are an extremely positive step and strengthen Vivid’s capability of developing new product and cohesive lines, be they in-house brands or licensed opportunities.”

KD UK welcomes new sales manager for toy division Lee-Anne Neale has joined KD UK as sales manager for toys. LeeAnne brings with her vast sales experience, having spent over 14 years developing and managing various accounts within the toy, gift, consumer goods and outdoor sectors where she held positions at Re:creation and Goldfish & Bison.

In her new role, Lee-Anne will work with the internal sales team and existing sales agents to help drive business within the majors, independent and online retailers across KD’s portfolio of products.

Toys R Us boss appointed as new Wyevale CEO Roger Mclaughlan, formerly managing director of Toys R Us, has been appointed as Wyevale Garden Centres’ new chief executive officer.

Roger brings with him more than 25 years of retail industry experience. Prior to 2012 when he became MD at Toys R Us, he held senior executive roles at Marks and Spencer, Woolworth’s South Africa and Asda.

Sambro appoints new head of soft lines The company is extending its category selections with the introduction of a new soft lines division. Heading up the new department is Lara Singer who is known throughout the industry, having previously held several buying roles at Primark.

Lara brings with her a wealth of licensed product experience having grown the Primark kids’ accessories range across the UK and Northern Europe.

Most recently Lara worked as senior buyer at renowned retailer M&Co, where she developed its licensed ranges, most notably Emoji and Harry Potter as well as growing its own Kylie brand.

As the new head of buying of soft lines at Sambro, Lara’s remit will cover bags, umbrellas, hats and cold weather accessories, as she seeks to boost the business by implementing the proven fast fashion formula successful in her previous roles.

Staff shake up for Revell GmbH in Germany Bernd Wiegmann is retiring from his role as the senior vice president of sales, and Hans Ulrich Remfert is retiring from his position as the president of Revell GmbH to make way for the new team.

Stefan Krings, formerly managing director for Germany and Austria at Giocchi Preziosi, will be taking over as president. Roger Gundel will be taking the role of senior vice president of sales, having previously held leading positions at Nintendo and Apple. Stefan Lutz will also be the new vice president for the marketing and product development departments, and has previously held the positions of director of marketing for Zapf Creation, as well as the head of marketing for the Simba Dickie Group.

New team for Kidicraft Kidicraft, distributor of National Geographic 3D puzzles, Primo children’s arts and crafts and Mostaix, has announced the creation of a new sales team.

Ireland will be covered by Andrew McCormick (07802 626517), Scotland by Karen Muircroft (07788 590711), the Midlands by Mike Harrison (07778 035047), South East England by Raymond Nedas (07733 361898) and South West England by Stephanie Stewart (07702 884388). Terry Hicks (07976 707838) will be responsible for the Isle of Wight. Only the position of agent for the North of England is still vacant.

Roy Greenwood, director at Kidicraft, said: “We are thrilled to have secured the services of such highly respected and experienced agents. Each and every one of our new team has told us that they are really looking forward to presenting our exciting ranges to their respective customers.”

Toy World 14

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marketing world The toy trade’s no.1 resource for marketing news and opinion

Schleich ramps up retail support for 2016 The company is looking forward to multiple retail activations, including the launch of its new branding and POS as well as many instore activities.

Schleich’s new branding and POS were unveiled at London’s Toy Fair this year, and received a great response from retailers. This will be available to all stockists from July and will reflect the branding of the franchises within the company’s portfolio.

March also saw the launch of the Schleich Loyalty Card, exclusive to Toymaster. This scheme will run for eight months, covering the important buying periods of Easter, half term and the summer holidays. This campaign will help to drive footfall and sales for the members, whilst giving consumers the opportunity to get a free figurine when they’ve spent £30 on Schleich products.

The new Horse Club range will launch later on in the year, supported by a strong PR and marketing campaign which will include a national newspaper initiative with a large multiple retailer. This activity will see 25,000 horses reach children’s hands during the period, creating a large sampling exercise that will boost awareness with the consumer.

Laura Bull, marketing manager at Schleich, commented: “We had really good feedback to the new branding and POS when we launched it at Toy Fair this year. This, together with the extra support and retailer activities taking place throughout the year will all go to increase the awareness of the Schleich brand with the consumer. Add to this other marketing activity including TV advertising and many diverse PR campaigns, and we have a really exciting year ahead.”

Saturdays become Super at The Entertainer A calendar of in-store events began taking place every Saturday from 5th March and will end on 14th May, and covering three popular themes: Disney Princesses, Star Wars and Captain America – Civil War. Customers are invited to The Entertainer stores across the UK to take part in a multitude of challenges throughout the 11-week campaign.

With activities, discounts, giveaways and competition running weekly, children can collect stamps on the Super Saturdays pass to win free exclusive prizes throughout each theme.

Disney Princess Super Saturday’s took place on Saturday 5th, 13th and 19th March, with challenges including Which Princess?, Discover your Princess Style? and Reveal the Moment. Visitors had the chance to win 11 Hasbro Disney Princess dolls or runners up prizes of £50 worth of Disney Princess Little Kingdom toys.

The Entertainer’s Star Wars Super Saturday’s dates are Saturday 2nd, 9th and 16th April.

Challenges include light-saber training, the opportunity for kids to create their ultimate Star Wars Hero Masher and to build the ultimate Star Wars weapon, alongside many more. There is also the chance to win one of five Star Wars Toy Bundles worth £100.

Captain America – Civil War Super Saturday’s dates include Saturday 23rd and 30th April, and Saturday 7th and 14th May, where visitors will be challenged to create the ultimate Super Hero Avenger with Super Hero Mashers, to battle their enemies with Iron Man’s converting armour or Captain America’s shield. Kids will have to chance to win a Civil War Toy Bundle from Hasbro and Lego worth over £300.

Rebecca Rees, head of marketing and licensing at The Entertainer, commented: “We are delighted to bring back Super Saturdays this spring. Offering fun-filled events to our customers is just one of the ways The Entertainer shows its commitment to children and their play. The stores will be a hive of activity over the next two months, giving shoppers the opportunity to interact with some fantastic toys.”

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GP Flair reveals marketing campaign for Messi Footbubbles brand With European football at its height, Messi and his footballing peers will be everywhere, as will a major global competition launched by the makers of Footbubbles, Funtastic. Kids around the world will be challenged to share their Footbubbles prowess on social media in the quest to meet Messi where they will get to watch FC Barcelona play at Camp Nou Stadium, followed by a special meet and greet session with Messi. Retailers have come on board and are creating their own Messi Footbubbles social media drives, focusing around his upcoming Champions League matches.

The campaign includes TV advertising starring Messi himself, a full Kids’ Football Magazine drive, plus a number of retailer-driven social media promotions.

Mayur Pattni, brand manager at GP Flair, commented: “This is the perfect time to really push this footballing brand. We are also delighted to see our retail partners getting in the spirit. As many saw at Toy Fair, we have some great extensions to this brand for autumn/winter and it all bodes well for a successful long term brand.”

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marketing world

Living in a digital world

Just because there is space on a webpage, it doesn’t mean we have to fill it.

Like many within the industry, I spent a recent weekend in the US: visiting colleagues in Boston, attending New York Toy Fair 2016 and speaking at Digital Kids Con 2016.

As any experienced business traveller knows, a lot of time around such events is spent in hotel rooms with default entertainment a TV. I’m fascinated by both TV content and advertising in other countries where cultural differences are more pronounced than other media channels. In the U.S., sport is an obvious example, with basketball and gridiron permanent fixtures on rolling news channels, whilst stations such as FOX News broadcast to us from alternative and (not always intentionally) entertaining political angles. Especially if you’re watching a Presidential caucus debate. But I found the most notable symmetry between direct response TV in the US, and the online space that we operate in.

For a start, they’re both big business. We know the online market is huge globally, but in the US the direct response TV market is worth around $250bn annually. Both are no doubt effective platforms for sending out a more engaging, long form message than a traditional TV spot. Both provide additional content that further educates a potential customer.

With a clear call to action, they’re also both extremely accountable; specific sales can be tracked to specific TV spots or online ad impressions, which makes them work harder for the brands who use them.

Yet it became increasingly clear that somewhere along the line, US content and advertising have traded places – historians may argue that this is how it has always been. The local morning news programme I watched in Boston often broadcast for less than 60 seconds before cutting back to yet another 5 minute ad break. We can all agree that TV advertising is necessary to fund quality content, but too often it felt as though TV shows were merely vehicles for noisy irrelevant ads imploring me to pick up the phone and buy now. In the same way, we are now at risk of allowing our internet content to be drowned out by ads for the sake of ads sake.

According to e-marketer, the UK was the first global market to see Digital secure a 50% share of total ad spend (by comparison the US will pass 1/3 in 2016).

But just because there is space on a webpage doesn’t mean that we have to fill it. As advertisers looking to achieve strong impact and cut through, we need online advertising to remain highly targeted and eye-catching – and that is down to good media planning and buying, and an effective creative execution.

As advertisers to children and young people, we must take responsibility for the short-term future of the internet, because our audience are the long-term future of the internet. Remember that kids are pretty much born tech literate, bringing new challenges. Take for

Biggest month of TV PR yet for Razor Since its launch in 2014, the Razor Crazy Cart has proved to be a media hit with TV PR placements including The Gadget Show, The Jonathan Ross Show and The Late Late Show to name a few. Recently, the company took things to another level with seven TV placements in just one month. With RipSurf recently launched at Toy Fair and Crazy Cart continuing to be TV shows’ ride-on of choice, Razor enjoyed more than the standard fifteen minutes of fame.

Razor’s TV appearances included Crazy Cart on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, A League of their Own, CBBC’s Officially Amazing and CiTV’s Scrambled show, while RipSurf appeared on The Gadget Show, Channel 5’s The Saturday Morning Show and S4C’s Tag. Re:creation’s brand manager, Katy Fletcher, commented: “It has truly been our biggest month of TV PR placements for Razor. To have someone like James Corden say that Crazy Cart is great fun is priceless.

The level of media interest in Crazy Cart just goes from strength to strength, and with showstoppers like RipSurf, RipStik Electric and the new Crazy Cart Shift set to join the portfolio, we certainly have the right tools to maintain the buzz through the year.”

Martin Doyle - Head of digital Tel: 0207 307 7098. martin.doyle@generationmedia.co.uk example Ad Blockers; never too far from the online agenda. As Digital Natives, young people will make the decision on whether to accept ads into their Digital lives in a way that isn’t the case with TV. In next month’s column I will be looking into this hot topic in more detail and reviewing how the younger generation might ‘switch us off’ and reshape the internet as we know it.

Nickelodeon’s Slimefest to arrive in Blackpool this September Nickelodeon UK & Ireland has teamed up with Blackpool Council to bring the family-friendly festival to the iconic seaside town.

Launched in Australia in 2012, Nickelodeon’s Slimefest is made especially for kids, featuring headline talent, DJs and a showground festival.

Spain launched Slimefest in 2015 with the first Italian Slimefest set to take place on 28th February. The first of its kind in the UK, Slimefest will form a part of Blackpool’s world-famous Switch-On weekend, with free and paid-for events taking place throughout 3rd and 4th September.

Slimefest will feature two live shows, activities, costumer character appearances, games, music and plenty of slime. The live shows will take place at the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, with the outdoor festival staged on the Switch-On arena at the Tower Festival Headland. Highlights from the festival will be broadcast on the Nickelodeon channel later in the month.

Alan Musa, VP, commercial director at Viacom International Media Networks, commented: “We already have a great relationship with Blackpool with Nickelodeon Land at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and our relationship is set to be strengthened even further with Slimefest.”

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licensing world The toy trade’s no.1 resource for licensing news and opinion

Clementoni signs deal with DreamWorks Animation for 2016

The company has announced a licence agreement for Dinotrux products across its puzzle range.

Dinotrux is DreamWorks Animation’s first original television series and is based on Chris Gall’s illustrated children’s book series. Season two of the Netflix Original Series debuted on 11th March 2016.

Clementoni is launching a range of two children’s puzzles under the Dinotrux licence, including the 104 pieces Maxi and the classic 104 pieces, both of which will be available from April.

Michele Marziliano, UK country manager for Clementoni, commented: “We are delighted to work with such a brilliant series which is proving to be a big hit with kids. With the introduction of Clementoni puzzles to the market, we see Dinotrux being a great extension to our portfolio.”

Sea Life on board for Mister Maker promotion

Zodiak Kids has agreed a co-promotion deal with the Merlin Entertainments Group’s network of Sea Life centres. The partnership will see Mister Maker’s arts and crafts activities feature across all 12 Sea Life centres in the UK and Ireland for a four week event centred around the May half-term holiday break.

This promotional tie in with Sea Life brings together key brand values of the two brands to create a unique event experience for children visiting the centres across the UK where they will be able to make unique sea themed creations to take home.

“Mister Maker is a naturally engaging character who makes arts and crafts easy and fun for every child, whether they have a flair for art or not.

The way he introduces each project will also help our younger visitors learn more about the particular sea creatures they will be making, which we hope will encourage many to go on and learn more,” said Jamie Turner, head of marketing at UK Merlin Entertainments.

Now in its seventh season with Mister Maker’s Arty Party, the show remains one of the highest rating pre-school arts entertainment programmes. Zodiak Kids recently announced new licensees for 2016 and a major three year renewal with its arts and crafts licensee Creativity International.

Redan launches Boj’s standalone Fun To Learn BagO-Fun magazine

On 11th February the magazine launched into retailers such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco, WH Smith and OneStop. The magazine is also for sale in independent newsagents in the UK, with an Australia and New Zealand release set to follow on 14th April.

After consistently being voted one of the top characters by readers of Fun To Learn Friends and Fun To Learn Favourites magazines, Boj was a natural choice for the next single-brand dedicated magazine according to Julie Jones, joint MD of Redan Publishing.

She said: “Boj Bag-O-Fun includes a story and activity magazine, colouring book, card activity and a Boj figurine, a must-have for all Boj fans. Since we started including Boj in our multi-character magazines, it’s become clear that not only is the brand a joy to work with, but it’s also proving very popular with our readers. His strong, distinctive style and his inspirational ideas for making, baking, drawing, creating, crafting and recycling lent themselves very well to a magazine special.”

Pesky Productions made a special unboxing video to celebrate the launch, and has seen a spike in Boj’s social media sites since its release.

Pesky’s David Hodgson, producer and co-creator of Boj, added: “We’ve suspected for some time that Boj was really starting to connect with young children in a very special way, but to have this clear proof that kids are loving Boj in magazine form is wonderful.”

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JNH Europe signs Angry Birds licensing deal

The three year deal will see the company introduce a line of Angry Bird-themed indoor and outdoor children’s furniture, including beds, playhouses, table and chair sets, moon chairs, foam sofas, outdoor patio sets, folding chairs and more.

Joel Cope, MD at JNH Europe, said: “We are very excited to work with Rovio and Bulldog Licensing on the Angry Birds licence. Rovio is putting a tremendous amount behind the property. We are sure the movie will be an overwhelming success and we’re delighted to be involved.”

Anker reveals range of licensed stationery

The company has had positive reactions to its Secret Life of Pets range, among others.

Helen Webster, International Greetings’ group licensing director, commented: “We had a huge reaction to our Emoji range of stationery at Spring Fair; this range really went down well with retailers, and orders have been brisk ever since. Emoji is an official trademark so retailers should be careful to buy the real thing.”

Judging by retailer feedback at Spring Fair, Helen predicts that another licence looking like a real winner is the Secret Life of Pets stationery, creative play and sticker range, which launches in May in time for the UK movie release in June.

Warner Bros unveils partners for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Warner Bros Consumer Products UK and Ireland has launched the official licensed merchandise programme for the film.

A robust line-up of local partners have come on board in support of the film, which brings two of the most iconic DC Comics Super Heroes together on the big screen for the first time in history.

Warner Bros Consumer Products UK and Ireland has announced that MV Sports is on board with a range that includes bikes, scooters and skateboards.

Centum Books has publishing covered, and specialist gift licensees GB Eye and Pyramid are launching ranges that include mugs and posters. Sambro has developed a diverse product offering that spans pocket money items, arts and crafts, games, bags and accessories.

By working with the best licensees that the UK and Ireland has to offer, Warner Bros Consumer Products UK and Ireland has created a licensing programme that recognises the broad consumer appeal of the film and complements the global licensing programme which is led by global master toy licensee Mattel, along with global partners The Lego Group and Rubie’s Costume Co. to name a few.

Viz Media unveils broadcasters and release dates for Yo-Kai Watch in Europe The first season of the animated TV series will debut on Cartoon Network in the UK on 23rd April.

After its successful run in Japan and in the US, 26 episodes of the series will be broadcast in more than 100 countries in Europe and Africa this spring.

European broadcasters include Boing (April 2016), Gulli and Cartoon Network (March 2017) in France; Boing in Spain and Africa (May 2016); Nickelodeon in Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands (May 2016); Cartoon Network in Italy (April 2016); Cartoon Network in Central and Eastern Europe, Nordic countries, Portugal, Turkey and Poland (April/ May 2016) and Noga in Israel (summer 2016) with channels to be announced soon in Russia and Ukraine.

Created by the renowned Japanese video game company Level-5, the Yo-Kai Watch franchise currently boasts a Nintendo 3DS video game series, a top-rated animated TV series jointly produced by Level-5, Dentsu, and TV Tokyo Corporation, manga and related books published by Shogakukan as well as toys (Hasbro) and other merchandise.

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Angry Birds™ & © 2016 Rovio Entertainment Ltd and Rovio Animation Ltd. All Rights Reserved. ©OldChap

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Traditional Pre-school Toys Beautifully designed packaging

DKL Marketing Ltd 11 Deer Park Road, Northampton, NN3 6QD, UK tel. 01604 678780 email. dkl@dkl.co.uk web. www.dkl.co.uk

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Feature

AIS

Independent’s day Toy World spoke to AIS’s head of toys and children’s, Miles Penhallow, ahead of this month’s Independent Toy and Gift Show How is this year’s event shaping up?

We are looking forward to welcoming visitors to our show on Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th April at Cranmore Park, Solihull.

This year’s show is the first time in 2016 that buyers will be able to meet with Hasbro, Mattel, Zapf/MGA Entertainment and Leapfrog all under one roof at a UK based show. This is our strongest ever line up of exhibitors with the return of Spinmaster, Jumbo and Bandai to the show.

In addition, new toy suppliers including Magformers, Engino and Big Potato will be showcasing their 2016 ranges alongside a growing selection of children’s gift companies.

Are there any initiatives being introduced this year?

We are encouraging exhibitors to offer a single product ‘Show Stopper’ offer only available at the show. This will be ‘while stocks last’ and so should create some excitement amongst buyers. These deals will be called out on the stands but the details will not be published prior to the show. Based on conversations with many of our exhibitors there will be some great ‘Show Stopper’ products available, but buyers will have to attend the show to take advantage!

Why did you choose a Games theme for this year’s show?

We are strong advocates of traditional play and quality time spent with families. A focused theme for each show will give each exhibitor some guidance and our in-house display team are already excited about working with this concept.

Visitors will be greeted by Mr Monopoly as they arrive and Big Potato will be demonstrating their games near the entrance area. Refreshments can

be taken at the Scrabble Café with its own outside courtyard and the evening party will be a Casino night.

What makes the Independent Toy and Gift Show different?

Our venue, Cranmore Park, is a high quality venue conveniently situated in the middle of the country. All the exhibitors’ stands are situated on the ground floor in two large adjoining showrooms. We offer visitors free parking and refreshments throughout the day including a hot lunch prepared by our own chef. As a result, we attract a variety of buyers from many different retail sectors including garden centres and tourist attraction gift shops.

We pride ourselves on making all independent buyers feel welcome and are always happy to discuss membership with interested retailers.

How do you feel the mix of toy and gift exhibitors benefits visitors?

By introducing more children’s gifts we are offering our visitors something different and offering a higher margin return for their stores. We often complain that children are growing up faster but many gift ranges

Learning Resources Stand 29 07872 337 302 | www.LearningResources.co.uk Learning Resources will be showcasing new additions to its popular science ranges including Primary Science, GeoSafari Jr, GeoSafari and Nancy B’s Science Club.

The company will also be exhibiting its new STEM range, launched in January 2016, featuring five activity sets that encourage problem solving from ages five and above. Each set develops a different skill set and focuses on topics such as physics, magnetism and programming. Complete with colourful hands-on pieces and supplementary learning materials, the range includes Force and Motion, Simple Machines, Magnets, Sink or Float and Robot Mouse.

The STEM Robot Mouse provides an introduction to concepts of coding, step programming and logic, encouraging children to apply critical thinking skills as they programme their mouse to navigate around the maze to find the cheese.

Also new for 2016, the GeoSafari Jr My First Telescope features a unique two-eye goggle piece and nose cut-out guide to keep children’s eyes focused on the right spot without the need to adjust. With 10x magnification and a wide field of view, children can gain a greater understanding of magnified views as they make lunar observations.

Toy World 24

appeal to the older child and help to retain custom for longer.

These are the companies that often missed by buyers at the larger fairs but offer excellent customer service and product which sits well alongside traditional toys.

Are you expecting 2016 to be a strong trading year for AIS and its members?

We believe that 2016 will be a vintage year for toys with so many strong entertainment brands creating demand. We have already experienced a good start to the year with Paw Patrol, Shopkins, Lego, Star Wars and Frozen continuing to sell. This year’s toy-related film releases include The Secret Life of Pets, Finding Dory, Batman V Superman and Trolls.

M4757 UK ToyWorldApr.AIS AD_HI.pdf

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talking shop Hatching a plan As the UK’s independent toy shops prepare for Easter, Toy World’s Jonika Kinchin finds out what plans retailers have for the holiday weekend, and what products and ranges they predict will perform well in 2016.

Bhav Patel Managing Director, Toy Galaxy I currently have three stores under the Toy Galaxy name, in Barnet, Harrow and Ealing. There is also Dentons Toys, Nursery and Cycles in Witney. The start of the year has been positive in general, with January and February results being better than the last few years.

I think that due to toy fair season and where Easter falls this year, half-term quietly snuck up on retailers, as there is usually a quiet season between Christmas and Easter to have a break and think about the rest of the year. We’re putting on a traditional Easter egg hunt for the local communities over the Easter weekend, and will have other events throughout half term in all stores. I feel as if Easter isn’t as exciting as it used to be, however the four day bank holiday weekend is an opportunity not to be missed for retailers.

We’re getting ready to put emphasis on the second quarter; I’m expecting outdoor toys to be a big seller.

The last two years have seen disappointing results from the summer months due to such poor weather and only short bursts of warmth and sun. About three years ago we had phenomenal results from the Easter and summer period, and we’re hoping for a repeat again this year.

For 2016, I’m anticipating the role-play category to increase in popularity, particularly with the Marvel and DC Comics licences. The release of the Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice movie should trigger a spike in the merchandise and related products. In

terms of actual toys, Paw Patrol has been a consistent bestseller for us, and has led to us providing more shelf space to cope with the stock we need to meet demand. Star Wars also obviously performed incredibly well, however prior to the actual film coming out it was hard to pinpoint which section and what exact products the money was going to come from, so we do have some stock left over, which we’re hoping will shift with the DVD release in April.

Finding Nemo has such a massive following and fan base so it will be a massive shock if Finding Dory is no a big success. We’re getting ready with lots of pre-school stock, and we’re hoping for the best.

We’ve also dedicating more and more shelf space to The Secret Life of Pets licensed products, which has slowly and quietly built up. We’ve been very selective of what exact products we’ve stocked as it could go one way or the other. A lot of these licences have their 15 minutes of fame and soon fizzle out.

Inside Out is an excellent example of this, it had a big build up as there hadn’t been a Pixar film released for some time, but the hype around the film didn’t last as long as expected. That is the main problem with stocking licensed products; sometimes you can order way too much in anticipation for a big release and end up drowning in unwanted stock, or be completely underprepared for the impact some

licenses have, such as Frozen. I don’t think any retailer ordered anywhere near enough stock to cope with the demand and the craze that it created at the time. However, now we are left with Frozen stock as the demand has died down, but we’re hopeful that the rumours of Frozen 2 will shift the stock.

For the rest of 2016 we’re going to keep a close eye on all of the stores. We’re going to update the layout and general interior of the stores, starting just after Easter. We’re also bringing out a new website with a new design and customer friendly feel. We’re planning on being more present and active on social media in order to reach out to our customers and find new ones. Having a few stores quite close together is a benefit as it means that people in the local area have a choice, and if we haven’t got an item in one store we might have it in another not so far away. The next task is then getting ready for Christmas! Where is the year going?

sand paINTING

E: enquiries@kidsbeehappy.com T: 01776 889569

www.kidsbeehappy.com Toy World 27

Jane Crowther Manager, Our Wooden Toy Shop, Aberlour My husband Russ and I took over the petrol filling station in the Scottish village of Aberlour in 2004.

We went on to have three children, and found it increasingly difficult to source good quality wooden toys locally Having started buying online but never being able to keep up with the increasing kids party invites, we decided we would stock our own in Aberlour Filling Station about three years ago. We began to introduce new lines focusing only on good quality wooden toys and cherry picking the best types to stock, making sure we were trying hard to source British design when possible but travelling worldwide when a toy range was too good to ignore. With three perfectly aged toy testers in the family and a love of wooden products for children, we have a pretty easy time choosing the best for our market and enjoy sourcing new lines and extending the age range as the family grows.

Business has been really tough since last March when major roadworks descended on our trunk road high street. Unfortunately three months of planned works are still ongoing nearly a year later with lights and single flow traffic making anyone passing through the village reluctant to stop. The whole village has been affected and shopkeepers are struggling to stay in business but have grouped together. That said, it has given us time to delve more into web sales and given us the opportunity to begin to grow this part of our toy business. We have been pleased to see many returning customers to the village shop and have been pleased with the customers who have discovered us through word of mouth from our social media Facebook page.

We visit Toy Fair at Olympia each year to have a look at new products and lines and to touch base with our suppliers. This year, we have been able to take on board Tegu who fit well with our ethical ideals and

Peter Allinson Owner, Whirligig Toys, Brighton Having just opened a third store under the Whirligig name, it’s easy to say that we’ve had an exciting start to 2016. We now have three stores, one in Brighton where it all started, one in Chichester and now one in Tunbridge Wells. To celebrate the opening of the new store, we gave away windmill-like toys on the first day we opened. We’ve had a great reception to the new store; it’s a great space and we’ve already got

have extended our Skipper range, both from Asobi. We are also taking in wooden puppets soon, and we are also going to carefully introduce key wooden board games and puzzles.

This year we are looking forward to increasing our Facebook audience and shop customers with some free competition giveaways that will appear on our Facebook page and in store. This will hopefully reach out to some new customers and encourage the traditional use of wooden toys.

We stock a variety of pocket money wooden toys through to more expensive castles and ride-ons, and find that customers are both delighted and surprised at the range of purely wooden toys that are available; they are spoilt for choice. Whilst budget is a consideration for some, depending on whether it’s a small party gift or larger birthday present, the quality of the toy tends to leave customers happy with the gift they choose and we are small enough and in tune enough with our own children to be able to offer experienced help with choice when needed, which is a massive advantage for us.

Easter and half term bring an increase in sales with the arrival of tourists, and we are keeping our fingers tightly crossed that the road works will be away and the whole High Street is left looking smart with a new road surface to make it all worthwhile. We have a large window display area that we update regularly, and Easter allows us to showcase outdoor toys such as picnic sets and ride-ons. Easter and half term should see an increase in pocket money sales as they make a great addition or alternative to chocolate as well as

toys that can be used outside, and hopefully we’ll have some warmer weather than we’ve seen in the past two years. Additionally our craft range from Seedling should keep kids busy and occupied. Our Skipper pond yachts are great for the warmer days out too.

We also have a variety of toys that encourage outdoor group play.

Toy Fair has brought us Tegu, Ride n Rolls from Skipper, and more due in soon. Tobar has also been really helpful in allowing us to trial new lines that we intend to bring on later in the year. With a relatively small shop space, deciding what to put on the shelves can be a make or break situation, and we only ever plan to stock the best of each type of wooden toy. We aim to have the best range of good quality beautiful wooden toys around and just need to spread the word far and wide to let people know who and where we are and how to get hold of our toys.

local community support. As any independent retailer would tell you, and I’m sure retailers in general as well, the start of the year has been much quieter in comparison to Christmas, however we’ve still been kept busy with the new store and toy fair season.

The main reason we visit the toy and gift fairs across the country is to find new original products that can’t be found in mainstream stores such as Tesco and Asda. We pride ourselves on being a specialist toy and gift shop that stocks things bigger retailers don’t. I always head straight to the second floor of Toy Fair, to the back section where all the start-up and

smaller companies are raring to go with their new ideas. Before I personally started the business, I was a primary school teacher and realised that most children of that age had grown out of toy shops, as they stock mostly for pre-school ages, and the toys they do carry for older children rarelyt match the price point of bigger retailers. I also realised that many of the shops stocked the same product, just at different price points.

I wanted my shop to be somewhere you can pick up new and different toys and gifts that you can’t find anywhere else. I’ve always been personally interested in crafting and modelling, and believe that there is a

E: enquiries@kidsbeehappy.com T: 01776 889569

www.kidsbeehappy.com Toy World 28

indie viewpoint

real place in the toy market for it.

I try to run a very hands-on business. My main policy is that whenever we get new stock in of a new product or range, all of the staff have to try it for themselves, that way they’ll be able to give better information and sell better when it comes to communicating with customers. We don’t stock ranges such as Barbie or Lego, because you can easily get them from any other toy shop or big retailer. The collections we have in store are unique and can’t be found easily elsewhere. We also don’t stock many licensed products for the same reason. We always intended to be different and therefore go out of our way to find products that customers won’t be able to find in other toy shops or supermarkets. We proudly go against the trends, and it seems to have worked for us so far. I also have a policy of if we don’t love it, the customers won’t.

We are exclusive stockists of some products such as Timberkits, giving us an edge when it comes to the modelling and crafting and sector. We’ve found that these types of products sell well as gift items, as a lot of our customers are coming in to find gifts for other people’s children or family members. All of the modelling and craft kits we sell are either suitable for all ages or have different levels available for each age group, such as the Wooden Dragon Automaton which is an intermediate level build and ideal for those trying wooden models for the first time. Another particular category of items that sell well as gifts is our range of books. We only stock books of a particular style, ones that have a make-and-do aspect to them, including activities that require the child to use their hands as well as their brains. We do stock some of the Roald Dahl products here, such as the Roald Dahl Storyboard Game, as it such a classic licence it always does well in the gift category. In general, we aim to stock products that have everything needed included in one box or one transaction, so customers don’t have to go out and buy a special kind of glue or screws, it’s all included.

Another way in which we differ from other toy shops and retailers is that we don’t follow trends or seasons. We get involved with things like half term and recognise seasons, but for Easter instead of an Easter Egg hunt we’re doing things like putting on promotions and taster sessions with products such as the BakedIn kits I picked up at Spring Fair. The range includes mug cake kits for kids that again hold all the ingredients and tools needed inside the one package.

We also stock lots of arts and crafts items, such as the Lets Draw! Book and Sketchpad. We were also one of the first stores to pick up on the adult colouring books a while back, and we had some great high quality pieces which helped to kickstart the trend.

With regards to what’s in the pipeline next for Whirligig, we’re considering opening up another store as well as putting our efforts and focus into the online section of the business. 98-99% of our turnover comes from our stores, so we’d like to increase our online sales. I do believe that the nature of our business is more suited to the high street. We stock some exclusive lines and ranges, people have the chance to try before they buy and get the experience that we offer. We do have a loyal population of customers and followers, but some of them live too far away to be regulars, so we’d like to cater to them online. We’re going to put out a web campaign to communicate with our current customers and community, and we’ll also be reaching out to people that just haven’t found us yet. We’re also planning to redesign the website to reiterate that we are not just any usual toy shop, and that we specialise in make-and-do products.

Mark Buschhaus and Stephen Barnes Toy Barnhaus

Easter treats

W

ould you believe, two weeks to go until Easter and the Barnhaus satellite is finally predicting some nice weather, which we are more than happy with. We are currently undergoing a stocktake, and we have quite a bit of outdoor product left over from last year. We remember when there was a heatwave over Easter several years ago, and we sold no chocolate at all, but plenty of paddling pools. We could definitely do with that happening again to help clear last year’s outdoor stock.

Reviewing February’s trade, it started quite slowly for the first two weeks, but the second half picked up, with a strong half term week. Strangely enough, the Valentines weekend was very good for us, so I’m not sure what people were buying for their other halves, although there certainly seemed like a lot of men with kids in the shops. As in previous years, book week was very strong for us, and provided a nice boost to sales in the first week of March.

There was great POS from Rubies to help advertise it, as many parents leave it to the last couple of days to sort out their child’s outfit. Our bestselling costume, as always, was Harry Potter, as it covers all ages and is not gender specific - thankfully we just about got our stocks right.

Early signs of trade in March are encouraging, with the weather benefitting our outdoor sales. TY is still flying, especially the new Teeny TY, which is a great pocket money line for under £3. A new boys’ collectible that has started well is Star Monsters; there is definitely a gap in the market for it. Another collectible on the horizon is the Euro 2016 football stickers range, and if they perform half as well as the World Cup stickers did a couple of years ago, we will be very happy.

The standout category so far this year is Preschool, particularly licensed. Blaze and the Monster Machines from Fisher Price has started very well, and is the best new licence for us so far this year. Paw Patrol, now into its second year, is still absolutely flying, and there are some great new lines coming out later this year too. Teletubbies from Character Options is going well, with the soft talking plush being great value and by far the best seller.

Easter is a growing opportunity for us. It seems that kids get less chocolate each year, and receive money instead. Judging by the amount of £5 notes we bank after Easter, £5 definitely seems to be the going rate. It is very easy to miss out on Easter when it is so early, but we always bring forward any related products, such as the Playmobil gift eggs and themed plush. We have lots of events planned for the holidays, with a Sylvanian meet and greet event in our Redhill store, and Ferrari themed activities linked in with Tobar and Lego for our Horsham store. With Easter being so early, we are expecting April to be quite soft compared with last year, with no specific events to help drive footfall and sales.

We have now finished most of our previews for Autumn/Winter, and we have really seen the standard move up even further - you will not be surprised to hear that we are talking about the lunches! To get even better, they would have to provide us with a three course lunch. On the product side, we have seen some great lines, with the new Superhero dolls range from Mattel, and new innovations on Shopkins from Flair looking particularly exciting. Looking ahead, the next major event will be the Toymaster show, and you will not be surprised to hear we have booked all our dinner appointments, but are still to arrange the supplier ones yet. Happy trading.

Toy World 29

NPD Column What’s happening in Europe?

The NPD Group’s Rory Partis considers recent value growth in the global toy market and evaluates the effect that licensed properties have had, especially in Europe.

2015 was a resounding success for the UK toy market, with impressive +6% growth in value versus the year before. This positive trend has also continued into 2016, with the latest NPD EPOS data showing +10% growth for the early part of the year. Which is all great, but is the UK alone in seeing these trends or are the other countries in Europe the same, or even possibly better? NPD currently covers a total of eight toy markets around Europe and each of these have their own individual story to tell. There are always common factors that run through all of them too, so what can we in the UK learn from the other markets in Europe?

The first thing to consider is that the growth we saw in 2015 was certainly not specific to the UK; NPD actually saw positive growth from every country that we track globally. In Europe that growth was led by Poland, growing at +10% and then Germany at +8% in value. The next best growth was then the UK, Spain and Italy who all grew by +6%. When you consider that the French market was actually the worst performer in Europe and still grew by +3% you can see what a fantastic year it really was. As an aside, the US toy market grew by +6%; at over $24 billion it is by far NPD’s largest market, and the growth in the US alone represented around half of the total value gain in the countries that we cover. Another point worth commenting on is that the market with the largest value increase is in fact Russia, however as prices in Russia have increased so considerably over the last year it’s not really a fair comparison with the other countries. Looking at volume growth in Russia gives a more accurate comparison, and that stands at +5% for 2015.

There are two big reasons why we saw value growth in all of the countries we cover in 2015, and those are Frozen and Star Wars. In fact these two licences appear in the top five properties of nine out of the twelve markets we cover globally, and Star Wars appears in the top five for every single country.

Looking around the countries in Europe the top five properties are fairly consistent but a couple of notable local properties are Pin Y Pon in Spain and Masha and the Bear in Italy. Masha is one licence I think we will see more of in other countries in 2016. But there are several properties that appear in that top five in

a number of countries.

We’ve already mentioned 2015: - best year since 2009 Frozen and Star Wars EU5 toy market pct chg YR/YR but Lego 7% City appears 6% 6% in six of the European 5% 4% 4% countries, 4% 3% Playmobil 3% appears in 2% four and 1% 1% VTech appears 0% 0% in three, -1% so there is -1% definitely -2% 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 some consistency around Source The NPD Group | Retail Tracking | EU5 | 2015 projected Europe in The NPD Group, Inc. | Proprietary and confidential 1 Document classification: Internal Only terms of property performance. its own specific areas. It will be very interesting to For the UK, 2015 was a year where we saw movies see what happens in 2016, will the movie influence contribute a great deal to the value growth in the continue? What effect will the European football market and licences grew strongly, with +12% growth. championships have? Will the UK still even be in the This was similar in Europe in the G5 countries EU…? where movie related lines gained just over €400m collectively, which brought movie lines up to 14% of all sales. Licences grew across Europe too, with +13% growth, but the figures are quite different by country.

Licence growth was strongest in Germany with +20% value growth, but Germany is actually the country with the lowest share for licences at only 21% of the market. Italy and Spain have the highest share of the market being licensed but both countries only saw single digit growth, whereas the UK, France and Germany all saw double digit growth. It should be no surprise to hear that the top two licences for the G5 were Frozen and Star Wars, growing the licence market by over €400m.

So a great year for toys around the world and especially in Europe, driven by some common themes for every country but each market having

EU5 – Total toys value change €12.8BN

Rory Partis

executive director

The NPD Group provides global information and advisory services to drive better business decisions. By combining unique data assets with unmatched industry expertise, we help our clients track their markets, understand consumers and drive profitable growth. Sectors covered include automotive, beauty, entertainment, fashion, food/food service, home, office supplies, sports, technology, toys, video games, and wireless.

To monitor what’s happening in the ever-changing toy market, NPD collects point-of-sale information from all major toy retailers. This information, combined with our analysts’ industry perspectives, delivers a comprehensive view of what’s selling and where. We also field over 12m consumer surveys annually to help industry leaders understand why consumers shop where they shop and why they buy what they buy.

For more information visit www.npd.com. Follow NPD on Twitter @npdgroup

Toy World 30

Fresh

FRESH THIS MONTH:

Each month Fresh sets out to find the latest products that will have toy retailers reaching for the phone.

In April we have new releases from: Access All Areas, Clementoni, DKL, Dragon-I Toys, Epoch Making Toys, Interplay, Tobar and Trends UK.

Shopkins’ Kinstructions

Trends UK Kinstructions is the new construction line from Trends that lets kids create and build their own Shopkins scenes.

The Kinstructions launch closely follows the launch of Shopkins Season Four, which features new Petkins, little pets which come with their own pet carrier. Shopkins Season Four also features new themes and accessories.

Impossible Puzzles

Clementoni Clementoni is making the impossible possible with its new range of Impossible Puzzles.

The puzzles feature repetitive images using well-known characters, with the centre of the puzzle and the edging being the only clues on how to put the pieces together.

Designed to involve the whole family, each puzzle contains 1,000 pieces. Clementoni has taken popular licences such as Frozen, Minions, Finding Nemo, 101 Dalmatians, Penguins of Madagascar and Trolls.

Impossible Puzzles are a strong concept which previewed at London’s Toy Fair and had an extremely positive reaction.

Batman ukulele and guitar accessories Access All Areas The licensed music distributor has announced immediate availability of its Batman Rooftops Ukulele and guitar accessory products.

Featuring a unique design and easy playability, the Batman Rooftops Ukelele product is perfectly timed with the major silver screen release featuring the Dark Knight.

The Batman Rooftops Ukulele is now in stock and available to order alongside the Batman Logo Fabric Guitar Strap, Batman Guitar Plectrum Set and new Batman Premium Leather Guitar Strap which features a diecast Batman symbol.

Toy World 31

Pre-school

GP Flair

0208 643 0320 | www.flairplc.co.uk Created in 1969, Stickle Bricks promotes the best in development of dexterity and imagination with its easy-to-hold bricks that stick together easily. Brightly coloured bricks in familiar and abstract shapes can be built into cars, robots, houses and more.

The 2016 range will include a Big Red Bucket filled with assorted bricks, which doubles as a storage container. Alternatively, the Stickle Bricks Beginner’s Box is the ideal start to a toddler’s collection. The stickled lid doubles as a play base and provides a platform from which to build.

From Flair’s strong collection of pre-school licences, the Doc McStuffins Collection is set to grow with the new Toy Hospital range adding to the Pet Vet theme. Flair’s line-up includes a wide range of dolls, playsets and role-play toys. There are also accessories such as the Vet Bag Playset and the Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Desk.

The Toy Hospital series, airing in September, will be accompanied by a range of role-play toys. These will include Doc’s Magical Toysponder and the Care Cart, complete with lights and sounds X-Ray machine.

The Half-Shell Heroes range has the new addition of a Turtles and Dinosaur theme inspired by the Nick Toons special: Blast to the Past. The T-Rex and Donnie playset includes an exclusive Donnie figure and a T-Rex with a moveable jaw. New waves of preschool action figures will be introduced in autumn alongside a Half-Shell Heroes Sewer Adventure Raph Playset.

Other classic pre-school collections include a series of wooden games and puzzles featuring Thomas & Friends, plus the range of Ferrari Play and Go Racing Cars.

Lego 01753 495 000 | www.lego.com The Duplo My First range provides toddlers with an introduction to basic construction, with Lego Duplo bricks specially designed to be safe for little hands.

A new addition to the Lego Duplo range is My First Truck, which is designed to help children learn how to match pairs. There is also a market stall, two characters and a cat to encourage role-play.

With My First Rocket, children can stack chunky bricks to make a colourful rocket and planet, with added building cards in the set for inspiration. Also in the range is the My First Caterpillar which gives toddlers everything they need to transform their caterpillar into a butterfly.

Around the World teaches children about animals’ names and noises, whilst exploring their natural habitats. The Baby Animals set from the Around the World collection can help develop early role-play skills. The easy-to-build Arctic and Jungle sets offer children many ways to play and learn, whether through making up their own animal stories, taking pictures or building The range also features a Savanna set including a simple, buildable tree.

Children can create space adventures with Disney Junior’s Miles from Tomorrow, as two new playsets are launched for 2016, Miles’ Space Adventures and Miles’ Stellosphere Hangar. In addition to Miles and Blodger Blopp figures, the Miles’ Space Adventures playset features a playground slide, space crater brick and buildable discovery radar with engine and turning radar.

Minnie’s Café comes with a table and a chair with a teapot for role-play, plus a pink delivery plane with a turning propeller. This set can be combined with Mickey’s Workshop.

LeapFrog 01702 200 244 | www.leapfrog.co.uk Last year, LeapFrog expanded its pre-school toy collection, introducing new ways to teach school-readiness skills. Designed by learning and development experts, LeapFrog’s toy collection teaches important abilities such as counting, sharing, spelling and collaboration, while encouraging skillbuilding, exploration and pretend play.

Number Loving Oven focuses on cooking and sharing, giving toddlers a first glimpse into how numbers and early maths skills are a part of everyday life. The Number Loving Oven talks, sings and encourages number skills through 30+ songs and phrases and 16 ingredients. Children can divide the pre-sliced food onto two plates and learn about sharing, while also developing an early understanding of equal parts and parts that make up a whole.

Scout’s Build & Discover Tool Box lets toddlers interact with LeapFrog’s character, Scout, as he introduces them to their first step-by-step building project through counting, measuring and colour matching. Children can construct Scout’s house from the ground up, talk to Scout, sing along with favourite songs, or simply tinker around with the five included tools.

Word Whammer helps develop kids’ phonics skills as they spin, push and twist the handles to identify letters and build words in three funfair themed games and five learning levels that adapt as they play.

Children can push the toy’s handle to blast a rocket into letters and to spell over 100 words. They can also match uppercase and lowercase letters by spinning the handle to bump a car into the correct answer.

Toy World 46

Pre-school

Posh Paws 01268 567 317 | www.poshpawsinternational.co.uk

Re:creation 01189 736 222 | www.recreationltd.co.uk

The Lion King made a welcome return to TV screens this February with a special TV movie launch of The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar. The feature length episode introduced viewers to a new cast of characters, as well as some classics from the original movie.

Off the back of the TV premiere success, Posh Paws is gearing up for the series launch in April with the release of its new Lion Guard plush range.

The high quality plush collection features all the key characters from the new Disney Junior pre-school show including Kion the leader of the guard and Simba’s son, Bunga the honey badger, Ono the egret, Fulli the cheetah and Beshte the hippo.

The Lion Guard soft toy range from Posh Paws is available in a variety of different sizes from an 8” assortment to 10” items and some extra-large characters. The plush is soft with intricate detailing making these toys ideal for both imaginative play and for children to cuddle up with at night.

Inkredibles, the new preschool creative title, will launch from Re:creation in the second half of the year, while the company’s Snuggables plush portfolio and Razor Junior will also unleash new additions.

Featuring Paw Patrol pups and Thomas & Friends, Inkredibles by Hinkler comprises a range of activity style books featuring proprietary ink effects. The Inkredibles Magic Ink Activity Set includes a 96-page colouring and activity book with six markers, a 48-page Magic Ink picture book and magic pen, and doublesided write and wipe board featuring a Water Wow scene plus a Water Wow pen and marker. Additional individual titles are also available. The Inkredibles range will benefit from extensive PR and online support.

The Stretchkins plush brand remains a winner with children and parents alike.

A purple and pink bear refreshes the line-up for the second half. Also joining Re:creation’s plush portfolio is Pop Up Pets. Four Pop Out Pets are available at launch, each featuring popular animal themes. Snuggables lines will receive heavyweight TV support.

The Razor Junior portfolio is set to grow this summer with the addition of four junior scooters. Incorporating Razor’s tilt-to-turn technology, the new T3 range of three-wheeled scooters offers the opportunity to see the technology in action with its ‘window bubble’. Available in two colourways, this item is an introduction to scooter riding for young riders, and has also been designed to offer great ride-ability as they grow. With Party Pop, pre-schoolers can get their share of the pavement action with Lil’ Pop and Lil’ Tek, both featuring light-up decks.

Little Tikes

0845 053 3333 | www.littletikes.co.uk Little Tikes will present a new pre-school range for autumn 2016 with Light ‘n Go, encouraging active play. The line of five wild animal-themed infant toys uses lights to inspire younger children to walk and cruise along. The characters, including a monkey, tiger and panda, each have their own fun interactive play elements, whilst the 3-in-1 Activity Walker and Activity Garden Treehouse are packed with features which will keep babies entertained for hours.

Lil’ Ocean Explorers continues to cement its place in UK homes as the range discovers and celebrates babies’ milestones. Using eight sea creatures, the toys help develop motor skills, coordination and confidence. Character favourites include Catch Me Crabbie, Pull ‘n Chatter Lobster and Crawl n’ Pop Turtle. Topping these is the award-winning 3-in-1 Adventure Course which develops and entertains children throughout three key developmental milestones: sitting, crawling and standing.

Little Tikes Wheel unveils a range of fast and fun vehicles, including the Tyre Twister RC. Children can watch it go back and forth, spinning 360 degrees and doing back flips.

Alongside this is the new My First Flyer Helicopter, which is the only helicopter for pre-schoolers that flies, turns and lands with one-touch control, making it easy to use for the youngest fliers.

The Tumble Train is the runaway toy that has been a success for Little Tikes. Supported by a heavyweight TV ad campaign, digital activity and parent website partnerships, it’s proved to be a best-seller in the pre-school category.

This largest infant-preschool range to date from Little Tikes will be underpinned by significant TV investment with six commercials planned through the year and doubling TV year-on-year TV support. This, plus major PR and social media activities, is all designed to support these exciting launches.

Toy World 48

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Pre-school

Tomy

01271 336 155 | www.tomy.co.uk In 2016, Tomy will support its toddler line with video on demand and online digital media support in key periods. The company will also launch individual TV advertisements for both toddler and bath products, which will air in spring/summer and autumn/winter delivering 300 to 400 TVRs. With 81% brand awareness in the UK, Tomy puts its success down to the extensive consumer research that it invests into its new lines.

Tomy’s mission is to make children around the world smile, and this is reflected in the new Pop Spinning Top which aids toddlers’ memory and colour recognition by challenging them to find homes for each of the Octopus’ coloured shapes.

The toy also develops youngsters’ motor skills, as once all pieces are matched they can press down the Octopus and watch as all his shapes pop out as he whirls.

Following the success of the Foam Cone Factory last year, Tomy has also expanded its bath collection with clever multiple-toys-in-one such as the Mix and Match Motor Boat. Set for release in autumn/winter 2016, this clever boat can be divided into four colour segments, and can be mixed and matched in different ways. Each segment also provides an activity such as a water sprinkler and water cannon, which aid in developing little ones’ coordination and motor skills.

Revell GmbH 0845 459 0747 | www.juniorkit.revell.de/en

Schleich 01279 870 000 | www.schleich-s.com/en Schleich will introduce a whole host of new products for 2016, including the My First Farm Animals and Feeding on the Farm playsets. Each set comes complete with a selection of recognisable animals offering an early introduction to this popular pre-school play pattern.

From August, the centrepiece of the Farm World range will be the Large Farm with Animals and Accessories playset which includes a detachable roof that makes it easier to inspect the sheds from above. New figurines in the coming year will range from dogs to large bulls. There are also plenty of new accessories to choose from, ranging from additional food for the animals to farmyard equipment such as wheelbarrows and buckets.

The Wild Life collection will now be split into Safari, Jungle, Forest, Ice and Ocean categories rather than continents and will include animals and playsets from each of these habitats. The Ice and Ocean category introduces animals from the North and South Poles as well as the underwater world. The Safari and Ice and Ocean worlds will be expanded in 2016, with many more life-like figurines and a variety of playsets.

Like all Schleich products, the new Farm World and Wild Life figurines and playsets are designed with great attention to detail, and hand-painted with care. The possibilities for individual arrangement stimulate children’s imaginations, opening up constant new opportunities for play.

The pre-school portfolio will be supported by a substantial PR and marketing campaign for 2016.

Revell’s track record for award-winning global toy ranges is boosted with two Best New Toy awards for its Revell Junior Kit. It was voted the BTHA’s Best New Toy in the Construction and Building Sets category at Toy Fair 2016 and also won an award in the Pre-School category at Nuremberg Toy Fair 2016.

Revell Junior Kit is a new concept that introduces the world of modelling to young craft makers, bridging the gap between playsets and construction toys. The Junior Kit is detailed, yet easy-to-assemble. Large parts are simply connected by screws, using child-friendly tools and once completed, each robust model kit transforms into a durable, fully functioning toy.

The attractive launch range of the Fire Truck, Cabriolet, Racing Car, 4x4 Vehicle and Police Car sets new standards in pre-school construction. The combination of imaginative gameplay whilst developing young children’s motor skills through the use of screws and screwdrivers convinced the awards panel in both countries.

Revell GmbH returns to TV with a heavyweight marketing campaign to support the UK launch of Junior Kit. TV advertising will run for the peak selling period in the autumn, targeted at the core demographic. The TV ad campaign will also be supported by a PR campaign.

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Pre-school

VTech

01235 546 810 | www.vtech.co.uk VTech’s pre-school category is set to have a number of new product launches. Each product is specifically developed to teach basic curriculum skills including phonics, letters, numbers, spelling and letter formation. The interactive range of toys helps to enhance a child’s learning experience, imaginations and language development.

New to VTech’s autumn/winter licensed pre-school and toddler range in 2016 is the Paw Patrol Treat Time Marshall which allows children to learn letters, phonics, colours, daily routines and more. With 26 letter biscuits and over 120 responses, facts and questions to help reinforce letter and vocabulary learning, Paw Patrol Treat Time Marshall also features over 50 songs, melodies, sounds and phrases.

Also available in autumn/winter is the Teletubbies Time to Rhyme, a chunky book featuring all four Teletubbies characters. With four easyto-turn pages, the book includes a light-up sun button that triggers sounds and melodies, and storytelling buttons that play different rhymes on each page. The light also flashes to the music to enhance visual stimulation.

In addition to licensed products, VTech also has some additions to its standalone pre-school and toddler ranges. My 1st Toolbox is a role-play toolbox that comes complete with a mechanical two-way drill, roleplay hammer, spanner, nails and screws. It also includes two doublesided cards that feature different projects to read or to use to discover colours, spelling, letters, phonics, numbers, household objects, modes of transport and more. It includes three modes of play, three turning gears and seven sing-along songs. All the accessories fit neatly into the tool box for on-the-go play.

In addition to this, VTech is also unveiling the Alpha-Gator, a pull-along alligator which teaches phonics, facts and more. When pulled along, its head shakes from side to side and three songs are playing. There are five modes of play including phonics, fun facts, quiz, silly sentence and music. The Alpha-Gator comes with 26 letters and object buttons.

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www.revell.de/en Revell GmbH, Unit 10, Old Airfield Industrial Estate, Cheddington Lane, Tring, HP23 4QR. For trade enquiries tel: 0845 459 0747, Email: ukbranch@revell.de © 2016 Revell GmbH. A subsidiary of Hobbico, Inc.

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Spin Master 01628 535 000 | www.spinmastertoys.co.uk Paw Patrol started and ended 2015 on a roll as the Top New Toy Property, with over 10 million viewers tuning into Paw Patrol across the Nick Jr. channels and Milkshake since its launch.

With season three now airing on Nick Jr., Spin Master’s new Paw Patrol Air Rescue Pups will soon take to the air. Each of the six pups in flight suits has a snap-on flight pack, and an air themed badge is also included for the child to wear. The new Air Patroller comes with pilot Robo Dog and come with space for a co-pilot in the cockpit and the other pups in the main cabin. It features lights and sounds plus spinning propellers and rotating wings to put it into hovercraft mode. The Air Patroller can also land on top of the Paw Patroller for even more adventures.

To recreate even more scenes from Adventure Bay, the new Paw Patrol Rescue Sets come complete with an animal to rescue and scenery from an episode of Paw Patrol. This spring, fans will also be able to take home Apollo the super hero pup, Robo Dog, Cali the Cat and Chickaletta in Spinmaster’s core range of products whilst Rocky, Rubble and Skye join Chase and Marshall in the larger manually transforming Jumbo Action Pups.

FOR HAPPY LIVELY LITTLE PEOPLE

Leading the wayy! in musical pla

Teddy Mountain 01803 559 768 | www.teddymountaindirect.co.uk Teddy Mountain provides an extensive range of high quality unstuffed teddies, clothes and accessories to the retail, entertainment and leisure industries all over the UK and beyond.

The company has launched new hand stuffing packs, allowing retailers to provide this service to their customers without the expense of purchasing a stuffing machine. Each teddy skin now comes with its own individual fibre pack and can be stuffed by hand either in-store or at home. Retailers can also purchase attractive cardboard display units to showcase Teddy Mountain products.

The company has noted that there are often concerns about having enough space for a full in-store experience of creating a teddy. However, with the hand stuffing packs there is no need for a large machine. The new display stands ensure the bears are clear for everyone to see, without taking up too much room on the shop floor.

Teddy Mountain has introduced an array of new products in recent months, including Sweet Shop bears earlier this year. These new bears, each named after sweet treats, are awash with colourful pastels.

New Aromabearapy scent chips were also introduced in February 2015.

There are eight flavours to choose from with more to be introduced later this year. Teddy Mountain has also expanded its range of sound modules to include a vibrating heart-beat and the opportunity to record a personalised message.

Themed party kits are now available, allowing children to dress up their teddies as knights, princesses and dragons. They can then take them away in a castle carry-home box.

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Pre-school

H. Grossman 01416 132 525 | www.ozbozz.com Car Trax is chunky flexible track that connects and interconnects, meaning that the various sets can be collected and connected together. Designed in bright colours, each set includes its own vehicle. There is also a host of Train Trax sets available.

My First Scooter is a starter scooter at an affordable price. Trail and Twist scooters are also ideal for younger children and the bright colours are an added attraction.

Sand Sculpt Sets from Grossman are also suitable for pre-schoolers. The sets contain re-usable sand, sculpting tools, moulds and cut-out figures. There is a choice of medieval castle or princess castle designs, and new additions to the range include foil packs, tubs and a larger set.

Funrise 01908 555 640 | www.funrise.com With an array of chunky vehicles from Tonka, My Little Pony feature plush and gadgets from Gazillion suitable for young kids, Funrise has plenty of pre-school offerings.

My First Tonka collection is a chunky range of vehicles and includes the Mini Wobble Wheels, Flashlight Force, Soft Walkin’ Wheels and Strong Arm vehicles. The Mini Wobble range features chunky wheels and designs such as a garbage truck, police car and fire engine. The Flashlight Force Tonka truck includes a built-in working torch.

Funrise’s range of My Little Pony feature plush continues to grow and is available in many price points, from 3’’ Ponies with clips to large 20’’ Ponies. The Twinkle Star Light Plush can also be used as a nightlight.

Funrise’s Bump-n-Go Bubble Bot moves across the floor on its tracked wheels and the Bubble Car emits hundreds of bubbles as it goes along.

DKL 01604 678 780 | www.dkl.co.uk DKL offers a range of pre-school toys across Scratch Traditional Toys, Miniland Educational and Hama Beads.

Scratch Traditional Toys’ new Wooden Pull-back Cars come in a set of three, with characters on each car, while the new range of Scratch Retro Toys has introduced the Spinning Top, available in either a circus or car design.

New from Hama Beads is the Maxi Stick range, which includes three hanging boxes, two themed pinboards and a tub of Maxi sticks.

Miniland’s pre-school range, The Educational Corner, boasts redesigned packaging, giving the educational range a stronger shelf presence. The Activity Clock helps children to tell the time in relation to daily activities, and the set includes 24 activity cards for hours.

Also new from Miniland is Emoti Blocks, a set of interchangeable blocks which help children to become familiar with various emotions.

The Miniland pre-school range is given extra play value through the Play Miniland website which provides parents with extra digital games to accompany their Miniland toy.

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Casdon 01253 608 428 | www.casdon.co.uk New for 2016 in Casdon’s Little Helper collection is the Dyson Cordless Vacuum, which features real suction and the same cyclonic action as an actual Dyson. Another addition to the company’s range of role-play toys is the Hetty and Henry Household Cleaning Sets. Henry’s set in red and Hetty’s in pink - both feature a dustpan and brush, mop, sweeping brush and more.

The Little Shopper collection has seen the introduction of the Ice Cream Shop. This role-play set has all that children need to make and sell pretend frozen treats. Other items in the range include supermarket tills, shopping baskets, trollies and more.

The Little Cook range has also expanded with the Mr Kipling Cake Stand & Tea Set. This brightly coloured shape sorting cake stand includes a host of cakes plus plates and cutlery.

Pre-school

Trends UK 01295 768 078 | www.trendsuk.co.uk Trends UK is launching a new range of Peppa Pig Electronic Learning Toys for 2016.

Available from summer 2016, Trends will support the launch of the new electronic range with strong marketing campaigns, including TV advertising and a wide range of PR and social media activities targeting parents of pre-schoolers.

The Play-Doh Play and Put Away range will be available from June 2016. The launch range available from Trends will include the Play-Doh Create ‘n’ Store Big Bucket and the Create ‘n’ Store Creation Station.

The new Play-Doh Create ‘n’ Store EZ Mat keeps floors and carpets mess-free as a play mat, and then turns into a portable storage sack that can be carried around or hung away in a cupboard for an instant tidy solution.

Rainbow Designs 01329 227 300 | www.rainbowdesigns.co.uk

Vivid Imaginations 01473 322 000 | www.vividimaginations.co.uk

Rainbow Designs’ feature plush character line-up for 2016 includes favourite characters such as Paddington, The BFG, Miffy and Shaun the Sheep.

Talk To Me Paddington features five different phrases as well as a recording function which allows children to record their own phrase and hear Paddington repeat it back.

2016 is the centenary year of Roald Dahl’s birth, and to celebrate Rainbow Designs has launched a new collection featuring Dahl’s most famous characters.

The company’s range also includes an educational interactive Miffy, designed to help children learn about the body.

Firm favourites with pre-schoolers are still perennial sellers Shivering Shaun and Baahing Shaun from Rainbow’s Shaun the Sheep range.

My First Crayola Mess-Free Sand Scribbler lets children draw in the sand wherever they go. Kids can use the magnetic easy grip stylus to scribble in the sand then just shake the unit to start again. With endless drawing and 12 different coloured background lights, little ones will be kept busy for hours.

Chuckle Ball is new for pre-schoolers this autumn. It is a motorised ball which encourages movement, as it erratically rolls and bounces around, making sounds as it goes.

Oodlebrites are light-up plush characters which magically come to life and change to seven different colours when tapped, ideal for a game of catch.

Paul Lamond Games 020 7254 0100 | www.paul-lamond.com New pre-school ranges from Paul Lamond Games this year include brands such as Noddy, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and CBeebies star, Boj. The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Noddy now feature on their own Jumbo 24-piece Floor Puzzle and 4-in-1 Puzzle Set, containing 12, 16, 20 and 24 puzzles.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar will also be the star of a Memory Card Game and a 4-in-1 Games Cube which will launch this summer.

Boj has been enjoyed by millions all over the world, and now stars on a colourful 24-piece Jumbo Floor Puzzle and 4-in-1 Puzzle Set. This summer will also see the launch of Boj’s new pre-school craft range where little ones can make a rocket, a guitar, a robot and Boj himself.

Best-selling story We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is set to appear on TV screens this Christmas, and Paul Lamond offers a range of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt games and puzzles.

The company’s multi award-winning Chimp and Zee range of games and puzzles is educational, interactive and are designed especially for pre-schoolers.

This colourful range includes Pesky Pirates, Silly Socks and Spotty Botty as well as the Alphabet ABC and Counting 123 puzzles.

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As seen on TV!

Schleich UK, 4 Stansted Courtyard, Parsonage Road, Takeley, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM22 6PU T: 01279 870000 E: schleich@schleich-s.co.uk W: www.schleich-s.com

Brand profile

Just keep swimming Toy World spoke to Bandai's Chris Pearce about the launch of the master toy rangefor Disney Pixar's much anticipated Finding Dory movie.

What can you tell us about the forthcoming Finding Dory movie?

Finding Dory picks up shortly after the original movie, reuniting the friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish with her loved ones, and everyone learns a few things about the true meaning of family along the way. Featuring a fantastic cast of Hollywood talent lending their voices to some new and exciting friends as well as many of the originals returning, Finding Dory is set to make a splash in cinemas this summer!

When will your Finding Dory range be launching?

Our toy line will be available from 6th May in the UK in the lead up to the films theatrical release on 29th July.

Where do you see the range being positioned in store?

Who do you see as the core target for both the film and the merchandise?

Much Like Toy Story and Finding Nemo before it, these iconic characters from Finding Dory are loved by boys and girls around the world and will resonate with kids and Disney Pixar fans alike of all ages. With an exciting line up of toys, Bandai will be primarily positioning this to children between 2-6 years old.

Can you talk us through the range and the hero products?

Taking inspiration from the loveable and humorous storyline in the film, we have captured the essence of these classic characters and transformed key moments into playsets, figures, plush, games, collectibles and many more. In our figure range comes the innovative SwiggleFish collection, featuring all your favourite characters with their own unique and patented swimming motion when they roll along. Everyone’s favourite teacher Mr. Ray also appears in the ‘Swiggle World’. Not only can he roll along himself, but he doubles up as transport for your SwiggleFish as they ride along on his back and then even be used as a very handy storage case so you can keep all your collectable friends safe inside.

From the interactive toys, ‘My Friend Dory’ will be a highlight as she has over 50 sounds and phrases from the film. She is touch and motion activated and has a fun fish like feel with moveable eyes that you can actually control. We also have ‘Let’s Speak Whale Dory’, a voice changer that records and plays back your voice in the official Whale Language and ‘Change & Chat Hank’ who has real colour change ability on any solid colour he touches, just like how a real octopus camouflages themselves. This fun feature also unlocks many different sayings from the movie with every colour change he makes.

Also in the line up is a selection of bath toys that include pull string bath swimmers, cute stylised bath squirters and a Surprise Squirt Hank Playset which changes colour in warm water and can even squirt water back. Our Dory range will also have a selection of different sized feature plush with sound and our ‘Whispering Waves’, huggable friends which also play soothing ocean sounds to send children off to sleep.

How do you think your new range compares with the selection of product available for the original Finding Nemo movie?

Our new range for 2016 is both exciting and innovative, crossing many categories with something for everyone.

For the original film there was very little product in the market, so this is a great opportunity for us to make some of the original cast finally come to life, as well as introduce new friends across the range. Following the success of Big Hero 6 last year we are happy to be expanding the range of quality toys within the Disney portfolio, with further development planned for Autumn / Winter and beyond.

How will you be supporting the range in terms of marketing and in-store activity?

Bandai will be supporting the launch with an extensive marketing campaign with heavy focus on both TV and Cinema from launch and throughout key periods across the year, with particular emphasis on the home

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entertainment release before Christmas. To complement these high profile media campaigns, we will increase our reach through dedicated online presence, consumer press as well as PR and experiential projects to really engage with families and supplement Disney’s own comprehensive and high profile campaigns.

How important is this launch to Bandai in 2016?

Finding Dory is extremely important to Bandai in 2016 globally. After the great success with Big Hero 6, we have been able to take what we have learned from our well received and award winning toy line and create a much more extensive range for Finding Dory, which captures the heart of the movie. With so many key and loved characters returning from the original, and many new friends joining along the way, the scope we have to create product and introduce newness across our existing launch line up is broad and inspiring.

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Feature

Pre-school licensing

A licence to thrill pre-schoolers The Pre-School sector is arguably the most competitive sub-category for licensed merchandise within the overall toy market. There are numerous options for licensees and retailers to choose from, ranging from classic evergreen brands to brand new emerging properties. The whole 0-5 demographic is catered for: there are an increasing number of licences aimed specifically at the infant end of the spectrum, while at the top end of the age band, so-called ‘Pre-Cool’ properties bridge the gap between traditional Pre-School and the 5+ market. Over the following pages, we round-up the latest information and developments from a selection of new and established properties targeting the Pre-School sector.

Blue Zoo 07879487940 | www.blue-zoo.co.uk Digby Dragon was created and based on original work from Sally Hunter, creator of the celebrated pre-school property, Humphrey’s Corner, and is being produced by Blue Zoo entirely at its central London studio.

Blue Zoo is an award-winning UK based animation studio founded in 2000. It’s a creative, adventurous and independent company which has a renowned reputation for passionate, stand-out, high-quality animation for TV, commercials, children’s programming, titles and idents. Over the past 15 years, Blue Zoo has produced hits such as Tree Fu Tom, Q Pootle 5, Olive the Ostrich, Alphablocks, Get Squiggling and Miffy.

Aardman Animations has acquired international TV, DVD and digital sales rights with Nickelodeon UK commissioning 52 x 11mins of the programme launching on its pre-school channel, Nick Jr, in spring 2016.

The show has also been sold to Nick Jr USA, Australia and Latin America as well as ZDF/Kika in Germany.

Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products has acquired consumer products rights in the UK and Ireland. Nickelodeon promises strategic marketing for the series, making the most of digital, on air and social channels as well as competitor channels to ensure that audiences are aware of and excited for the show. The series launch will also be supported with PR outreach across TV and partner press as well as bloggers.

Nickelodeon believes that ranges such as forest playsets, vehicle and plush would work well with the property. Dress up and role-play would lend themselves well along with sleepwear and select apparel.

Those Licensing People 0845 901 1657 | www.thoselicensingpeople.com Within 12 months of its launch on Disney Junior, the 115-episode pre-school series Zou had extended its reach into 150 territories in 30 languages and was already reaching over 100 million children worldwide. Since the appointment of Those Licensing People as UK and Ireland licensing agents, the company has been deluged with requests from potential licensees who are keen to sign up the colourful and charming property. Based on the books by Michel Gay, series producer Cyber Group was quick to extend the intellectual property into the licensed property marketplace.

Learning through play is a constant theme within the series, as Zou learns important life skills that can easily transfer to his viewing audience. As one of the most visible properties on Disney Junior and with a further season coming in 2016, Zou is fast becoming a genuine evergreen with a strong following.

There are prospects for Zou to establish itself as a leading property in the UK market. There has been no direct licensing in the UK to date, and the challenge is to ensure that the rights are supported by the appropriate licensees.

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All new toy licensees for 2016!

ELA

Wooden Toys

Bakeware RC Inf latables

Construction Toys

Arts and Crafts

Electronics

Plus new ranges from: www.peppapig.com OfficialPeppaPig

PeppaPigUK

theofficialpeppa

officialpeppauk

www.benandholly.tv

OfficialPeppa

Ben and Holly’s Elf Rocket Brand New for 2016!

OfficialLittleKingdom

TheBenandHolly

TheOfficialBenandHolly

BenandHollyOfficial

For Licensing Inquiries contact: Email: eOneLicensing@entonegroup.com Website: eonelicensing.com Peppa Pig © Astley Baker Davies Ltd. / Entertainment One UK Ltd. 2003. All rights reserved.

PP BHLK Toyworld Ad Mar16 v5.indd 1

Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom © The Elf Factory Ltd. / Entertainment One UK Ltd. 2008. All rights reserved.

18/03/2016 17:25

Pre-school licensing

Coolabi 020 7004 0980 | www.coolabi.com Clangers has had a roaring start to 2016 as the number one show for kids by the end of January, based on CBeebies viewers aged 4-15. It also achieved the top spot once again in February, again based on CBeebies viewers aged 4-15. The series’ recent move to CBeebies Bedtime Hour at 6pm is resonating with mums and little ones alike.

2016 marks an exciting time for the brand as it prepares to launch the next set of 26 new episodes, due to broadcast on CBeebies this spring, which will be supported with a big push in PR, advertising and marketing.

Space is a key theme for the brand this year and with Major Tim Peake’s International Space Centre visit creating a real buzz amongst children, Major Clanger will be joining the action with some surprises soon to be announced.

In-store theatre launched at Boots at Easter with Clangers standees, supporting a national toy end promotion, and costume characters are also making an appearance in Hamleys.

Adding further weight to Clangers activity, the brand is once again part of Innocent’s Big Knit campaign for Age UK, which saw hand-knitted Tiny and Soup Dragon hats on smoothie bottles across retail.

Clangers now has over 100,000 highly-engaged Facebook fans and the latest Mother’s Day promotion reached almost 600,000 consumers, demonstrating the pull of the brand.

Character Options’ toys, Penguin’s books, Ravensburger’s jigsaws, Signature’s DVD, and Dreamtex’s bedding are now being joined by Fashion UK, Cooneen & Misirli’s apparel; Trademark’s bags, Funstickers’ stickers, Immediate Media’s stand-alone magazine and Apples to Pears’ crafting kits as product roll-outs build momentum in 2016.

Coupled with winning the BAFTA and the Broadcast Award for the Best Children’s Pre-school Animation, and being shortlisted for the British Animation Awards, Clangers is looking forward to a strong 2016.

Entertainment One 0203 6918 600 | www.entertainmentone.com Entertainment One’s Peppa Pig now generates over $1bn in global retail sales per annum and has 2.7 million fans on the UK Facebook page. With 52 new episodes currently in production and set to launch onair in 2016, there is a fresh pipeline of new content to inspire its growing licensee base and entertain its huge fan base.

2016 looks set to be an exciting year for Peppa Pig in the UK. eOne has consolidated the licensee base and has added 14 new licensees to ensure that ranges are refreshed at retail. As a result of this strategy, retail sales for core toys were up 10% in 2015 making it one of the strongest growth categories last year.

Character Options has developed a new core range that includes tubes of figurines, a kitchen playset, pull-along boat and house and garden playset. These will launch in autumn/winter 2016 alongside other core lines such as the car and camper van. Joining those ranges, Character Options recently launched Peppa construction toys in the UK and the firm will be introducing a line of arts and crafts products that includes dough, doodlers, easels and felts.

Other Peppa licensees are also expanding the toy category with new products. HTi has developed character shaped role-play cases, Winning Moves is introducing Peppa Monopoly and Guess Who board games, Flair and Vivid are bringing out new arts and crafts ranges, Meld has produced a range of wooden toys and new partner Bladez will be launching the brand’s first remote control inflatables. Trends, the brand’s new ELA partner, will debut Peppa laptops, tablets, phones and microphones.

Princess Peppa is the key brand theme for autumn/winter 2016. This theme will be led by toys, but incorporated across the full licensing program including apparel in addition to featuring in the brand’s marketing strategy. Across toys, the Princess theme will be made up of figure packs, various playsets and hero products include Princess Peppa’s tower and Princess Peppa’s carriage. eOne’s Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom continues to go from strength to strength. In the UK, Character Options’ new toy line has reinvigorated the brand and as a result distribution has increased with merchandise now stocked at more stores and wider retail channels, particularly grocers. New products coming through in 2016 include Character’s Elf Rocket and Silly Spells Holly talking plush with glowing cheeks, role-play toys from HTi, electronic learning toys from KD UK and the introduction of secondary categories including stationery, homewares, puzzles, games, health and beauty, outdoor toys and accessories.

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Pre-school licensing

Nickelodeon 020 3580 3016 | www.nick.com Blaze and the Monster Machines has become a pre-school hit, with over 5.8 million viewers tuning into the series across Nick Jr. channels and Milkshake! since the series’ launch in March 2015.

Blaze and the Monster Machines’ blend of humour and fun combined with an educational STEM curriculum translates into a diverse spectrum of products that cover a variety of categories.

There has been UK consumer demand for products, and Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP) has already signed 17 UK licence partners in addition to master international toy partner Fisher-Price. Bringing the property to life, the anticipated Fisher-Price range, with toys including the Transforming Blaze Jet plus a range of talking vehicles, collectible diecast vehicles, the new Slam & Go trucks and Blaze bath toys, is now available from retailers including Argos, Toys R Us and Smyths.

Furthermore, HTi will partner with NVCP on a line of toys and Sambro is to develop product across multiple categories.

LeapFrog will produce educational games and toys, while Centum Books will hold the publishing licence. Character World will be developing Blaze bedding, beds and bedroom accessories while Kokomo has the licence for health and beauty. Ninja will produce Blaze play tents and inflatables while Delta is on board for beds, toy storage and chairs. In the food category, Lightbody has been signed while Amscan has taken the partyware and balloons categories. NVCP plans to expand the property in categories including construction, stationery, arts and crafts, games, bags, accessories, home, outdoor and novelty.

Nick Jr. and Milkshake! will feature special programming stunts and feature length episodes to further engage fans. The new on-air content will also create promotional opportunities with retail partners, providing additional support for upcoming lines which are sure to dominate aisles this year.

Mattel 01628 500 111 | www.mattel.com Thomas & Friends steams ahead in 2016 with a new brand campaign, Team Thomas, to power Thomas on a digital journey to the Great Railway Show. The UGC-based initiative will be driven across the website and Thomas & Friends social channels engaging parents and pre-schoolers.

The year kicks off with the mini tentpole DVD, Start Your Engines.

2016 also sees the release of the 11th feature film, The Great Race, in cinemas across the UK supported by an extensive marketing campaign. The latest international adventure introduces an extensive range of tie-in products including toys, publishing and apparel with the DVD set for release in September.

The popular Thomas & Friends toy ranges from Fisher-Price continue to build momentum with a playset based on the new movie, as well as new engines and playsets within the TrackMaster Take-n-Play and My First Thomas lines.

The Fisher-Price toy range brings construction to life for pre-schoolers. The range includes vehicles from Diecast and Talking Friends to the fully interactive Full Throttle Scoop.

Building on the successful launch of the new look Bob the Builder on Channel 5’s Milkshake!, now also airing on Cartoonito!, 2016 sees the introduction of the second series of new content with a new season of 52 x 11 minute episodes featuring new storylines and STEM learning themes.

Smoby will also be launching a range of role-play toys allowing Bob fans to immerse themselves into the construction world through play as well as additional merchandise such as books and apparel coming through later in 2016.

The launch will be supported by a marketing campaign including TV advertising, pre-school print media including the Bob the Builder magazine, dedicated Facebook page, website and YouTube page.

Following the successful double digit growth of Fireman Sam in 2015, this year sees Fireman Sam in the launch of series 10.

Key broadcast partners include Milkshake! and Cartoonito! in the UK and key licensing partners include master toy licencee Character Options.

Toy partners are driving the consumer products programme forward across EMEA, reflected in the 95 licensees that Fireman Sam currently has under his belt, with more coming on board for 2016.

Toy World 64

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Face to Face

Fresh focus at Tomy Publisher John Baulch spoke exclusively to Mark Foster, Tomy's newly-appointed executive vice president Europe, about his first ten months' tenure and the plan to reinvigorate the company.

JB: What was behind your decision to leave Hasbro to join Tomy?

MF: Hasbro is a fantastic place to work, I don’t have a bad word to say about the company. I had an incredibly varied and enjoyable career there. I was attracted by the opportunity to be part of the new Tomy and to help the company release its enormous, untapped potential. When we get things right, we will bring Tomy back stronger than it used to be even in its heyday, when it was an innovator and had a real point of difference in the toy market. The enticement for me was being part of the senior team and, ultimately, leading that reinvigorated vision.

JB: What have been the biggest short-term hurdles to address?

MF: For the past few years, when my predecessor was in charge, the biggest challenge was one of integration. After the merger of Tomy , Learning Curve and RC2, a lot of internal attention was given to maximising operational efficiencies. There was a lot to sort out with the offices, logistics and warehouses.

When I came, there were still a few operational areas that needed to be addressed. There was a European marketing team which was not only trying to do too many things product development, business planning , brand strategy, marketing communication execution – but also look after the UK market.

My first change was to set up a dedicated UK marketing and trade marketing team to work with the UK sales team. That move has made a fundamental difference to the energy and approach to business planning for the UK, which is Tomy’s biggest market. We now have a team of five, headed up by Emma Fryer, who are all enthusiastic and passionate and it is

already making a big impact on the business.

JB: What other initiatives have you put in place within the European operation?

MF: The other main change I’ve implemented is to give more ownership to the local business units, moving away from a Pan-European approach and letting the individual country managers drive the business as they see necessary for the local market. As a result, we now have tight teams, well-integrated at a local territory level, with clear operational structures and objectives.

JB: Where do you feel the product portfolio sits in the evolution of Tomy ?

MF: Since the merger with Learning Curve and RC2, we have been through a bit of a journey to figure out what our main priorities are.

We had a very broad portfolio which bridged the traditional toy and nursery markets and I think, in hindsight, we were constantly in two minds about where we wanted to play.

I believe that Tomy’s real strength lies in ‘Toyland’, so we’ll continue to play to our strengths in the Pre-School category, but the focus will be on the toy side of the business.

Our core brands – Lamaze, Tomy Toys , Aquadoodle, Pokemon and the Disney licences – are unequivocally toy brands. We still have good distribution and presence in the nursery channels, but when I look to the future and

Toy World 68

assess where our brands are going to come from, we’re going to be a great toy company and that’s where our energy is going to be focused.

JB: Is licensing going to play a key role in Tomy’s future plans? If so, which areas of your licensing portfolio are you looking to bolster?

MF: I’m definitely in the market for a strong Pre-School licence. We’ve got strong heritage in the PreSchool sector, having done great work in the past on brands such as Teletubbies, but I feel it is an area which we’ve let slip. If there is anyone out there who has the big Pre-School licence for the next decade, we’re in for it!

JB: And if they have, why do you believe that Tomy would be the right partner for them?

MF: We have huge experience in the Pre-School sector, backed up with great product development resources, both in

the UK and the USA. Within the new corporate structure, we can also call on R&D support from our parent company in Tokyo. The level of expertise that we can call on in terms of design, quality and technology can make a real difference to the product development and strategy for a licence.

JB: Will you look to take more product from Tomy Japan in future?

MF: In the short term our focus needs to be on making a deeper footprint for Tomy in our key markets. I absolutely believe there is scope to double the size of the Tomy business with our core brands alone. We still have huge potential with these brands and I want to make sure we do the very best job we can in terms of making them must-stock brands for our retail partners and developing engagement with our end consumer. Those are the immediate priorities.

However, one of the factors which drew me to Tomy was my memory of the brand from its heyday: those slightly quirky, unusual and novel items which came from Japan. I went to the Tokyo Toy Fair last July and I’ve never been more excited in my twenty years in the toy market. The energy, the excitement… if we can bring a portion of that to bear in Europe, it would really help to reinvigorate the business. There is a hint to the future of Tomy in some of the new novelty items which are coming through. There are also a number of hugely popular ranges over in Japan which we haven’t introduced to the UK, and some classic favourites – I can see a couple that have every opportunity to be the new Transformers.

JB: What are the key objectives for 2016?

MF: I want to put Tomy back on the map. We

had a good year in 2015. The Disney licences performed well for us and we’re looking forward to Zootropolis – early signs are encouraging and we have high hopes for the brand. Pokemon continues to go from strength to strength, and we’re anticipating a good year for the 20th anniversary. We’re going to do an excellent job on the relaunch of Lamaze: we’ve conducted a lot of research, looked at what made the brand a success in the first place and gone back to that. We’ve completely revamped the packaging and we also have a new face for the brand in Colleen Rooney, who is the new Lamaze ambassador. We also have some classic brands such as Aquadoodle which perform well year after year; we’re introducing a couple of new licensed versions this year Thomas and Friends and Paw Patrol – to keep the range fresh.

Vader. We’re also back on TV in the autumn with Greedy Granny, so overall we feel we have a strong games offering and we’re excited about being back in the games business.

JB: Going round the stand at Toy Fair, it seemed that you have also put more emphasis on your games range this year MF: When we talked to our consumers, we discovered that they had a particular fondness for Tomy’s games. They loved classics such as Robo Doc, Screwball Scramble, Don’t Wake Dad and Alibaba, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to lean back into the games category. We have a strategy to launch a couple of new games every year. We’re talking to the inventor community to make sure we get novel items. The Pre-School skill and action genre has previously been our heartland and this will help us build on the success of Pop-Up Pirate, which has been huge seller across the globe. As the Frozen version did well for us last year, it’s no surprise that we’ll be introducing a new Star Wars licensed version this year – Pop-Up Darth

JB: Is that the best way to compete with the big companies, not take them on directly?

MF: We can take them on in several areas: where we have a major licence such as Zootropolis you’ll see us on TV, in feature space and in FSDUs in the major retailers. For those kinds of brands, we know the rules of engagement. For others, such as Lamaze and Tomy Toys, while TV will be part of the mix, it’s about having a more intimate relationship with our customer and persuading them to buy into the philosophy of the brand. That’s a much more long-term relationship to build, which doesn’tt suit short media campaigns and price promotions. We want our customers to be fans of our ranges and become part of the journey we’re going on.

JB: What do you think the new UK marketing team brings to the Tomy business?

MF: Tomy already has a reputation for having fantastic quality products and for being a great partner to our retailers. To build on this, I believe we now need to reinforce and develop our communication strategy: we need to talk directly to our consumers and that means more of a digital and social media presence.

And that doesn’t need big blockbuster campaigns, but because we have creative and nimble teams now in each market, we can be quick and smart and apply more of a “ninja” approach to our marketing!

Toy Trust Update April 2016 Take a look at what’s happening with the industry’s dedicated charity Nick Austin – always up for a challenge Along with Alan Munn and Peter Brown, Nick Austin was a founder member of the Toy Trust 24 years ago.

Charitable events were organised and impressive amounts raised, but five years ago the annual event became a lot more organised, and with Nick at the helm the Toy Trust challenge became a most enjoyable part of the toy industry diary.

“We wanted to make a real step-change and double the annual fundraising, whilst at the same time create an annual event that brought people together in a regular fun event. The first was the Three Peaks Challenge in 2012: 130 toy people joined in and raised a staggering £132,000. Every year since the participation numbers and the money raised has grown significantly”.

So when does the planning start?

We plan the next Toy Trust Challenge around 10 months ahead to ensure all the logistics are in place and that people can lock out the date well in advance for training and fundraising. Each year we try to add something different: in 2016 it is the 12,000ft Tandem Sky Jump, which we’ve added to the normal cycling, running and walking events that we know people love.

How do you decide who benefits?

The Toy Trust committee makes those decisions, with a common theme of focusing on disabled and disadvantaged children.

Have you taken part in every event?

Yes I have, and I love doing them because they give me a reason to get fit every spring and to push myself to do something I’ve never done before. It is also a way of using my business and entrepreneurial skills to raise big amounts of cash that enable the Toy Trust to support so many deserving children’s charities.

Have you any personal high and low points?

The high point, literally, was the 12,000 ft sky jump

four years ago. It scared the living daylights out of me, but is something I’ll never forget or regret. The low point is every year seeing a small minority of participants turn up, have a great day but then reveal that they’ve put no effort into the fundraising side of the event.

Anyone for cupcakes?

The Toy Trust Big Cake Bake is back from Monday 11th to Friday 18th April.

Monday 11th to Friday 15th April Categories are as follows: • Best Licence Inspired – industry led licenses • It’s All About the Kids – any children’s party would be proud!

• Here Comes Summer – summer inspired • Chocolate Heaven – white, dark and milk chocolate creations • Best of British – whether flavours or style these represent all that’s great about the British Isles Email Matt@BTHA.co.uk for more information of follow on twitter @thetoytrust

What’s the aim for 2016?

We’re aiming to raise £200,000 from the Big Cambridge Challenge with over 280 people participating. This year’s big charities are 10 UK Children’s hospices and East Africa Playgrounds.

How much has been raised in the four annual challenges to date? £700,000 …hopefully with this year’s target we’ll take the cumulative total to £900,000 in five years.

How many competitors have taken part?

There have been over 1,000 participants - an amazing feat from a small but big-hearted industry. So many amazing people from the toy industry have shared these experiences with me and hopefully the Big Cambridge Challenge will be the next one this summer.

We still have a few places left so email Matt Jones on matt@btha.co.uk or check out the Big Cambridge Challenge web page at www.btha.co.uk/toy-trust/fundraising/toy-trust-2016-events/big-cambridgechallenge-2016/ for the all-important event information.

Beneficiary spotlight – The Movement Centre The Movement Centre is based in Oswestry, Shropshire, but supports children from across the UK. The Charity works with children and their families to provide a unique, evidence- based therapy called Targeted Training. The children they work with have movement control problems, which means difficulty in achieving many basic everyday functions. Evidence has shown that a child is 3-4 times more likely to gain functional skills with the addition of Targeted Training than with conventional physiotherapy alone. The Toy Trust provided The Movement Centre with a grant to purchase specialised two standing frames, which two children will use during their course of Targeted Training. Through the training they have received from the Movement Centre, the children photographed are now well on their way to learning to walk independently as a result. This is a fantastic result, which is only possible through the funds that are raised by the industry.

Toy World 70

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Feature

Pocket Money toys

Pocketful of sunshine With their small prices and huge purchase power, pocket money priced collectible crazes can be the equivalent of gold dust to the toy industry. Clarabel Jones looks into the latest trends and examines which products will be emptying piggybanks this year.

S

weeping the nation off its feet in 2015, with the loom band craze and World Cup stickers close at its heels from the year before, Shopkins dominated the pocket money toy market last year. Indeed, the impact that these playground fads have on the success of the whole toy trade is undeniable. What’s more, with a host of new introductions, the pocket money toy and collectible categories look set to grow even further throughout 2016.

Toys bearing affordable price labels not only give children the satisfaction of being able to spend their carefully saved pennies, but they also carry a crucial pulling power which drives kids into stores on a weekly, sometimes even daily, basis. Ben Harper from Magic Box sees this traction as pivotal to the success of the sector and also to the growth of the toy industry as a whole: “The pocket money category is such a key part of the toy market these days, as it brings kids into toy stores on a regular basis. A good collectible offers an enormous amount of engagement and enjoyment for kids and parents. Companies in this sector are constantly striving to create new and appealing concepts and it’s exciting to be part of that.”

So what can the UK toy trade expect from the pocket money category this year?

“It looks like 2016 will be a strong year for the category with a number of significant launches already in the first quarter and with some established products continuing to sell well,” added Ben. “Magic Box has just launched Star Monsters, which collected the Best New Pocket Money Award at London’s Toy Fair. Offering collectability and playability at competitive pocket money prices, Star Monsters appeals to girls and boys in equal measure and trade reaction to the collection has been outstanding.

Consumer reaction has also been excellent and the sales that we have seen in the first few weeks have confirmed that 2016 will be an exciting year for us.”

Licensed products will undoubtedly continue to be strong sellers on the back of big movie releases and major sports events. Louise Ramplin, entertainment marketing manager at Topps, understands how acquiring the hottest licences is a vital step for many toy companies in making a big impact in stores. “Topps has been adding to its growing Star Wars portfolio, with the launch of a number of new collections to capitalise on the recent Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie,” she said. “We will also be launching more great collections this month, including the Shopkins trading card game, following the great success of last year’s Shopkins sticker collection.”

As a company, Tobar also keeps a keen eye on the

Magic Box

latest trends in the licensed market, and is looking forward to releasing new additions to its Thunderbirds range to complement the hit series which, after 150 years, is still going strong with old fans and new.

CEO David Mordecai said: “We’re particularly excited about Tobar’s Thunderbird Wooden Flexi Figures which feature iconic characters such as Parker, Brains, Scott and Virgil. Our team expects these to be popular with fans of the retro show. The summer blockbuster Finding Dory is also set to be a huge hit, and we’ve got a selection of Finding Dory lines including fish and playsets based on the new characters in the movie. Tobar is also thrilled to have secured the exclusive UK distribution for Schylling’s new Star Wars lines, including BeBots, which feature some of the saga’s best loved characters. There’s a wide range of tin collectibles with new and classic characters.”

However, although character licensed products are undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with, David Mordecai also believes in the strength of timeless, classic toys, often sold at till points, which children of all ages can engage with. “Our buyers have been busy selecting classic toys which will help drive impulse sales, including wooden, squishy, clockwork and party bag essentials,” he said. “Tobar’s plush collection is ideal for in-store demos and includes characters such as Walkin Pony, Magical Unicorn, Pig, Walkin Westie and Dinosaurs. Our pocket money toy collection has been boosted by our team with some excellent new lines including the expansion of our Party Bag range, which was very popular last year.

Toy World 72

We’ve also developed more clockwork toys which sell consistently all year round.”

Promotional activity is also an important factor in building a brand and in getting kids hooked onto a collectible craze. Topps has implemented this strategy through giving children an even bigger incentive to expand their Match Attax Extra trading card collection, which launched on 10th March.

“For Topps, Match Attax is the biggest launch each year in the collectibles category,” said Rod Pearson, managing director. “This year’s Premier League collection is bigger and better than ever, as we have teamed up with Eden Hazard, the Premier League star, who will be the ambassador for the brand.

We’re also launching the Club Together initiative to give away a series of rewards to young and aspiring footballers, including a training session with Hazard.

By collecting codes that will be printed inside every packet of Match Attax Extra trading cards, grassroots football clubs, community squads and school teams will be in with a chance of winning some brilliant prizes.”

Stackable toys have also got off to a flying start to the year: Teeny Tys and Click’s Tsum Tsum range have both been mentioned in despatches by retailers, while numerous other stackable collections are due to come to market over the coming weeks, and there are many who believe that this genre could well emerge as the hot trend of the year.

Over the next few pages, Toy World presents an array of pocket money priced collectibles from a range of different companies.

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Pocket Money toys

Character Options 01616 339 800 | www.character-online.com Squishy Pops from Character Options are squishy, squeezable collectibles that stick to any smooth surface and pop when picked up.

Each Squishy Pop is a malleable character with a tiny sucker base which can be collected as a standalone mini treasure or displayed in themed playsets.

2016 will see the launch of new characters from Finding Dory and My Little Pony.

The new Finding Dory range will be available from June 2016 and will consist of six squishable characters. Each character is created in both opaque and crystal versions which are available as single, triple and five packs with a clam shell display capsule. Also new is the Aquarium Play Set, which children can use to create a Finding Dory underwater scene.

The My Little Pony Squishy Pops collection launched in 2015. This autumn series three will launch with 24 new characters to collect including new Crystal Ponies. Each pack comes with a heart-shaped capsule case which can be used to both protect and display a favourite figure. The Ferris Wheel Display Set is also new for 2016.

Click Distribution 01604 858 480 | www.clickdistribution.com Following on from the release of the Euro 2016 Adrenalyn XL Trading Card Game in February comes the arrival of Panini’s eagerly anticipated Euro 2016 Sticker Collection. This collection is set to be huge with the support of a large media programme. Fans can join the conversation on all social media outlets with the hashtag #GotGotNeed, a quote that had a big impact on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the 2014 World Cup. Topps launched Match Attax Extra in March, and the Star Wars Force Attax Extra and Shopkins Trading Card Game will also land this month. Disney’s Zootropolis premiered at the end of March and is supported by Panini’s Movie Sticker Collection.

Panini’s new Paw Patrol Sticker collection is in stores and has been selling well.

Another product doing well at the moment is Disney’s Tsum Tsum collectible range. Click Distribution will see the arrival of the Tsum Tsum Sticker Collection in the following months featuring all the nation’s favourite Disney characters. Also coming soon is a long list of further Sticker Collections which include Captain America Civil War, Frozen, The Lion Guard and the Secret Life of Pets.

All of these products are available exclusively at Click Distribution.

DKL 01604 678 780 | www.dkl.co.uk Hama Beads and Breyer Model Horses are distributed exclusively by DKL Marketing.

Hama Beads is continuing to perform well with its low prices and high value. A popular pocket money option is the Small Blister Pack which comes in six assorted themes including Glow in the Dark. Each pack contains a pegboard, ironing paper and enough beads to make three creative designs. The assortment comes in a CDU of 24 pieces or alternatively the packs can be purchased individually.

Breyer Model Horses offers miniature models at pocket-money prices.

The Mini Whinnies CDU contains 48 assorted pieces in individual foil bags. Children can collect the Mini Whinnies, and seeking out the special pink Treasure Horse hidden in the display will encourage repeat purchases.

Larger Breyer models will also appeal to collectors. The traditional range of 1:9 scale horses includes world-famous horses such as Valegro, the Olympic Dressage star and Carltonlima Emma, The Queen’s Royal Fell Pony. Each model is created exactly in the likeness of the real horse, and each is hand-crafted.

DKL supports every range with a full marketing programme including dedicated planograms, visual merchandising and extensive PR and social media activity.

Toy World 74

Pocket Money toys

Esdevium Games

01420 593 593 | www.esdeviumgames.com The Pokémon Trading Card Game saw record-breaking sales across 2015 with NPD data recording 56% growth from 2014. That growth looks set to continue, as The Pokémon Company International marks a milestone year in 2016 celebrating 20 years since the first Pokémon games.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary, on top of Pokémon’s regular set releases is a new monthly figure box, the Mythical Pokémon Collection. Every month a new box will launch, dedicated to a different Pokémon and featuring two exclusive Pokémon TCG: Generations booster packs. These boosters are not available through regular product, such as boosters, theme decks and tins, making the Mythical Collection boxes highly desirable for fans. The Mythical Pokémon Collection will also contain a never-before-seen foil promo card, a character collector’s pin and a code card for the TCG Online.

Star Monsters is a new pocket money collectible exclusively available to the UK toy trade through Esdevium Games. Winner of the coveted Best New Pocket Money Toy at London’s Toy Fair, the collectible figurines, of which there are more than 72 characters to collect, represent true pocket money value. With plans already in place for future releases and even more collectible angles, Star Monsters has the potential be the huge collectible craze of 2016 and beyond.

HTi 01253 775 684 | www.htigroup.co.uk Successfully combining everyday toy lines with some of the biggest brands in the market, HTi offers an extensive selection of pocket money toy ranges with Frozen, Peppa Pig, Thomas the Tank, Avengers, Star Wars and Finding Dory.

HTi is a leading supplier of pocket money toys throughout Europe, offering an extensive portfolio of domestically stocked everyday toy ranges from Teamsterz vehicles, Jokes & Gags, Razzle Dazzle and My Princess girls’ gifts to Bubblz, FunSport outdoor toys, Pirates, Knights, Groovy Tunes music and many more. All ranges have been refreshed for 2016 with over 100 new lines added. All pocket money toy ranges feature fully branded and merchandised packaging and CDUs. Offering a quality range of bubble solution and bubble toys across all value price points, HTI’s own Bubblz range includes assorted solution bottles, wands, swords, guns and playsets. The new Socka Bubble enables boys and girls to impress their friends with magical bubble kickups. The special bubble solution creates bubble balls which can be kicked and played with while wearing the magic sock.

Teamsterz, HTi’s extensive diecast metal vehicle collectible range, combines sharp price points and quality manufacture to offer high levels of detail, great play value and new lines across replica vehicles, from emergency, military and construction themes to city, racings cars and transporters. The new Teamsterz assorted monster trucks provide mighty diecast vehicle play value at pocket money prices.

Magic Box 01403 251 286 | www.magicboxint.com Star Monsters are a bright and tactile range of collectible figures which received the Best New Pocket Money Toy Award at this year’s London’s Toy Fair. Each character has been formed from a star that has fallen to earth and transformed into a Star Monster.

Series one features 72 different characters to collect, including rare gold, silver and evolution Star Monsters. The range of products starts with two Star Monsters and two stickers. A blind bag features two Star Monsters and two Mini Capsules, which can be connected together to build a great display. Bags and larger Capsules are available for storage and gameplay too. A Starter Pack provides a 32-page guide book and a large collector poster. A blister pack and tin complete the initial range.

Star Monsters appeal to boys and girls in equal measure and trade and consumer reaction to Star Monsters has been very positive. The launch has been supported by an enormous marketing campaign, delivering more than 1,000 TVRs (4-9), widespread product sampling and various online and social media activities. Marketing will continue to grow throughout 2016 to establish Star Monsters as a must-have playground craze.

The figures are available to the UK trade through Esdevium Games.

Toy World 76

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Pocket Money toys

MGA Entertainment 0845 0533 333 | www.mgae.com MGA has introduced new pocket money collectible, Num Noms.

Featuring miniature characters inspired by sweet foods and flavours, the individually scented Num Noms have over 60 characters to collect.

Kids can take a Num, the outer, soft, hollow characters, and nestle it on top of a Nom, the inner, hard-shelled characters that are either motorised to scoot around or filled with flavoured lip gloss.

The collectibles can be piled high in hundreds of different combos or raced against each other. Each pack comes with a collectible sheet so children can tick off what they have, swapping with friends and creating different combinations.

The Num Nom Mystery Blind Pot includes a Num and a surprise flavoured Nom lip gloss in a yoghurt-style mystery pot. The Num Noms Starter Pack includes three Nums and one motorised Nom, plus a spoon and a cup or cone, and the Deluxe Pack includes six Nums, two motorised Noms plus a spoon and a cup or cone. For avid collectors the Go-Go Café playset has a slide, teeter-totter saucer, spinning doughnut wheel and peek-a-boo teapot shower.

The Num Noms website will enhance play with character profiles, games, activity pages and digital and printable checklists for children to keep track of their collections.

Stockists include toy retailers and major supermarkets, and in summer 2016 the product line will be extended even further.

Tobar 0844 573 4299 | www.tobar.co.uk Tobar has secured the UK distribution rights for Schylling’s official Star Wars tin collectibles, including BeBots, Kaleidoscope, Wind Ups and Pin Ball, featuring characters from the original and latest instalments of the saga.

Zuru’s Finding Dory lines have lifelike movements and bright colours. Favourite characters from the film are available to pre-order now, including a playset which would be ideal for in-store demonstrations.

Tobar’s Thunderbird Wooden Flexi Figures are expected to prove popular with fans of the iconic show. Larger figures include Brains, Parker, Scott and Virgil, all of which come in retro styled boxes to reflect the heritage of the classic series.

Tobar has a range of collectibles to suit any budget including Tobar’s Make Your Own Kits. The designs include Pony, Owl, Ballerina, Patchwork Bunny, Teddy, and a Felt Doll, all of which come with everything needed to complete the project inside the box.

Tobar has sourced new pocket money lines this year including wooden classics such as Wooden Owl Miragescope, Critter Catcher and Cupcake Watches. The company’s collection of creepy crawlies are topped up with the Pop Eye Snake, Dinohead puppet and Spider Ooze, and its clockwork and windup toys have new designs including a surfer, mermaid, firefighter, ballerina and many more.

Panini

01604 877 888 | www.clickdistributionuk.com With the Euro tournament travelling to France this summer, Panini is gearing up for what is set to be one of the most successful Euro campaigns ever. Panini is a brand that is synonymous with football, and the official UEFA Euro 2016 Sticker Collection is expected to exceed all sales expectations.

The company is investing heavily in retail activity across all of its key listings, and is activating one of its biggest marketing campaigns to date for the launch of the UEFA Euro 2016 trading card and sticker collections. A multi-channel marketing campaign includes TV advertising, cover-mount activity, press and web advertising, an integrated digital campaign, nationwide sampling and national and regional newspaper activity. Sampling collectors through national press and at retail will amass into several millions of sticker albums being placed into the hands of potential collectors.

The collection will also be backed by investment at retail across all key listings. Panini has high impact on TV and online, with pre-roll campaigns booked for both trading cards and stickers targeting its core audience. The company is targeting its core boys’ audience in the UK and Ireland but also has a heavy campaign targeting key sporting and football enthusiasts.

Panini will also be running a wide range of competitions and give-aways over social media, national and regional print media as well as online. The company will be running activity right from the launch of the collection through to the tournament in June, in order to maximise its reach and to engage with its target market through tailored activity.

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Brand profile

Everything Clicks into place Toy World spoke to Click Distribution’s Mark Hillier, the king of collectibles, to find out how the category is shaping up so far this year JB: What ranges are currently performing well for Click?

MH: Tsum Tsum is on fire at the moment. Zuru shipped stock directly to the major accounts two weeks before our shipment arrived, and by the time our stock landed, the majors had all sold out.

Thankfully we’d been fairly bullish with our initial order, so we were able to offer top-up stock to the major accounts as well as supplying all of our independent customer base with their orders.

JB: What other lines do you see selling well over the next few months?

MH: The Paw Patrol sticker range is also going great guns, and I’ve no doubt that will continue for a long time to come. On top of that, we’ve just shipped the Lucky Bags range out to the trade, which we have high hopes for, while Topps’ Match Attax range is a perennial best-seller. Topps’ Shopkins trading card range has also just launched, and the Euro Stickers from Panini came into stock just before Easter.

JB: How do you see the Euro range performing compared to the Word Cup range two years ago?

MH: I genuinely believe we’re going to sell as many packets of Euro stickers as we did for the World Cup – Panini is going to put a colossal amount of resources behind the range, and we’ve opened a number of major accounts such as Argos and Poundland since the World Cup. So even though tens of millions of packs of World Cup stickers were sold, I think that number can be matched or even exceeded this year.

JB: It must be an immense challenge to keep product in stock when we’re looking at those sort of volumes?

MH: Looking back at the last World Cup, from the day when the stickers were launched to the day of the final, we were never out of stock. I think that’s pretty good going.

JB: Do toy retailers really appreciate the size of the opportunity provided by the collectibles category?

MH: Some certainly do, but I think it’s fair to say that others may not entirely realise the size of the category and the potential it has. Perhaps it’s because of the low price point, but the volumes that can be achieved more than make up for that. Also, as a footfall builder, it’s crucial: it brings kids into the shop every week, and puts money in the till constantly, whatever the time of year.

JB: How can you help independent retailers to make the most of the category?

MH: Ultimately we’re a service

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provider: our job is to provide our customers with product ranges that sell regularly and in large quantities. We carry a vast range – over 500 products, and new lines are being added every single day. Our minimum carriage-paid order is only £150, and customers can phone or place an order on the website and get it delivered within 24 hours.

JB: What do you do to let consumers know about the new product releases?

MH: Social Media plays such an important part in getting information to our customers. We have our own YouTube page, which is becoming increasingly important in helping us to talk to our end consumers.

One of the team shot an unboxing video of the new Match Attax range recently, and in the first week alone it received over 10,000 views. It’s an amazing tool, and it can be used to promote any product – you’ll definitely see us doing a lot more in that area in the future. Ultimately we’d love to be able to use it to tell consumers where they can buy the product. We have also invested heavily in a new web site (www. clickdistributionuk.co.uk), which is a fantastic portal for information about the ranges we support.

Customers can also use it to place orders and get information on live stock levels. On top of that, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Linked-In all feature in our marketing strategy.

JB: Is there any aspect of the current collectibles market which concerns you?

MH: There was a huge influx of new blind bag ranges at Toy Fair – I just hope that this doesn’t have an adverse effect on the category. Sometimes over-supply can lead to fatigue and confusion, both amongst consumers and retailers.

JB: Are they are currently-untapped areas of the collectibles market which you’re keen to develop?

MH: Panini has an adult collectible range in the USA called Flawless. It currently focuses on sports organisations such as NFL and NBA, but they’re launching a soccer version for the first time in May. It’s a very high-end range: there are ten cards of the highest possible quality in a metal briefcase, featuring unique sporting mementoes such as Gareth Bale’s studs and some pieces of shirts worn by world legends.

It is a very limited edition run: It will cost £2000 for a case, and Click has secured four of the cases being created. I’d love to see us develop this specialist, adult collectible area here in the UK – I really believe there is a big market here for this sort of top-end range.

Pocket Money toys

Topps Europe

01908 800 100 | www.toppsdirect.com Match Attax is Topps’ biggest launch each year in the collectibles category.

This year’s Premier League trading card collection is bigger than ever, as the company has teamed up with Premier League star, Eden Hazard, who will be the ambassador for the brand.

Along with the launch of the Match Attax Extra collection, the company is launching its Club Together initiative for the second year running to give away a series of rewards to young and aspiring footballers, including a training session with Eden Hazard himself.

The Match Attax brand is also associated with the UEFA Champions League, featuring all the top players from Europe’s greatest clubs. Launched in January, the collection is already proving to be a playground hit with millions of packets sold.

Football sticker collections continue to go from strength to strength, with the launch of Topps’ annual classic in December last year, the Merlin Premier League Sticker collection, and a new sticker collection for the UEFA Champions League.

The company has been adding to its growing Star Wars portfolio, with the launch of a number of new collections to capitalise on the recent Star Wars: The Force Awakens film. These include Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens trading cards, Star Wars sticker collection, which was launched in two parts, and the Star Wars Force Attax and Force Attax Extra trading card game.

Topps launched many more collections in March, including the Shopkins trading card game. Additionally a new Marvel Cinematic Universe edition of Topps’ Hero Attax trading card game launched on 31st March.

Funrise’s Tonka collection of diecast mini vehicles has a multitude of vehicles for children to collect.

The Tonka Diecast Assortment features miniature vehicles including a Tow Truck, Steam Roller, SWAT Car, Dozer, Vintage Bike and more. New for summer is the UK Emergency Vehicles Assortment that includes a fire engine, police car and ambulance.

For action on a larger scale, but with pocket money prices still in mind, is the Tonka Mighty Fleet range.

The Tonka Rescue Force Coast Guard Helicopter features lights and sounds and spinning chopper blades. The Mighty Fleet Emergency Vehicle Police Car has flashing lights and a realistic siren, with easily recognisable yellow and blue branding.

2016 sees H. Grossman introduce over 100 new pocket money lines from mini Megasaurs to Alien Eggs and Minions. New sand sets which allow kids to build an indoor castle made from sand provide value at pocket money prices.

Traditional items such as Gliders are now available in packs of four.

Alien Eggs and Fizz Pods are continuing to sell in quantity all year round. Creating lots of interest is the Megasaur Growing Egg, which allows kids to grow their own Megasaur by dropping the egg in water and watching as the baby Megasaur hatches. This product is available in two sizes.

New licensed pocket money items include Ghostbusters Slime.

In My Pocket has returned to GP Flair’s Just Play division, introducing detailed puppies and kittens to the collectibles market.

Puppy In My Pocket has been a favourite amongst girls for years. With over 100 miniature puppies to collect, each characters has its own name and bio based upon realistic dog breeds. The launch collection for Puppy In My Pocket will include blind bags, a clip on Pocket Pouch and a soft bag.

Kitty In My Pocket will follow later in the year with litters of cat breeds that come with their own collector checklist. Sets available in the Kitty range will mirror the Puppy range.

The collectibles will launch in April with the support of a multi-platform marketing campaign.

Re:creation’s Lego key lights collection continues to be a popular pocket money item and 2016 brings more characters from Star Wars Episode VII as well as the latest Lego launch, Nexo Knights.

For summer, Kylo Ren, First Order Stormtrooper, Poe Dameron and Captain Phasma will join evergreen Stars Wars stars, while BB-8 is also set to join the range for autumn.

Supporting Lego’s recent Nexo Knights interactive property launch, collectible Nexo Knights key lights will include an exclusive shield power code to enable children to unlock additional content on the Nexo Knights online portal. The Clay and Aaron characters are the first to launch and will be available from summer.

From farm life and horses through to dinosaurs and DC Comics’ superheroes, Schleich has an extensive selection of pocket money priced collectibles.

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In 2016 Farm Life received an overhaul, as for the first time the horses will move out of the Farm Life collection to become a distinct range, Horse Club. This new brand will offer a standalone range that includes favourite breeds, accessories and playsets. Horse Club will be supported by extensive marketing and PR support, including a collectors club.

The Dinosaur range will strengthen its offering further in 2016, with new dinosaurs to collect.

Further characters will also be available in the DC Comics collection with Batman V Superman leading the way in the first half of the year, along with Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Cyborg.

Vivid Imaginations’ Fungus Amungus outbreak is underway with the Batch 1 Specimen and Vac Pack Collections. Each figure is made from a material that kids can stretch, squish and stick to almost anything. There will be over 100 to collect for spring/summer 2016 and a further 100 new figures in autumn/winter 2016. Fungus Amungus will continue to be supported with a heavyweight TV campaign, alongside comprehensive online and digital activity.

Animagic Rescue Hospital will launch series three and four collectibles in 2016, introducing over 80 new figures. The figures are available in Blind Bags and Collector Packs.

New collectible brand Kitty Club has 21 kitties to collect in Blind Bags and Accessory Packs. Each figure has blinking eyes and an interchangeable hat accessory.

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viewpoint Toy World shares insight and opinion

Andy Clempson Toy industry sales and commercial expert

Closing the deal The supplier’s challenge Today’s consumer is spoilt for choice; they are less loyal, yet more knowledgeable and tech savvy than ever before. There is increasing competition at retail, as well as retailer growth through consolidation (such as the potential Sainsbury’s/Argos deal), plus the expansion of pan European and global buying, own brand development and the capture and use of shopper data.

These industry dynamics impact the supplier approach. Some consider that the traditional art of selling is about “doing the deal,” showing what you have, using a little (or a lot) of pressure tactics - more tell than sell. Some may say that this style still exists in our industry and it works just fine. However, industry progression means that suppliers have had to develop a style more akin to trade development. This is about establishing needs and proposing solutions to match, understanding the motivational buttons, developing longer term relationships at all customer levels and being flexible – a more subtle blend of art and science.

Sales people come in all shapes and sizes, but successful ones all share the need and ability to get a result whatever the industry challenges. As it often feels these days that the amount of time spent face to face is getting smaller, what tactics will help a sales team best achieve results from its regular customer meetings?

Live on the (sales) pitch Don’t forget basic pre-meet preparation; a clear, timed and shared agenda to focus

both parties, a personalised presentation, a hard copy back up should technology fail, and finally, making sure your demo samples work.

Visit a physical store and don’t just look online before your meeting. This gives you real time information on your customer’s and competitors’ retail activity, promotions and stock levels, thus warning if you need to adjust your sales pitch. If your big proposal is for a 15% off price promotion and a supply competitor has just launched a BOGOF, you should know before the buyer tells you.

First impressions count. To quote Marilyn Monroe “I don’t mind making jokes, but I don’t want to look like one”, so look smart and act smart. Think about your meeting introduction, particularly if meeting someone new, and back this up with strong body language and thoughtful relevant opening conversation. Try to make this a positive link to the meeting purpose and to keep it conversational, as this should help to control the dialogue from turning into a negotiation too quickly. It’s hard to sell to the buyer that says nothing so you want people talking from the start. Although, in truth, I haven’t met too many buyers like this in our industry…

Remember some golden rules of positive customer relationships. Be sincerely interested in the people you are dealing with and make them feel important. Use the language of “we” (better together) and not “you”. Be honest, don’t take things personally and always stay calm and professional - this should mean that those on the other side of the table remain the same (I have only once seen a toy person walk out on a supplier in 15 years).

Open questions will give you useful information and help confirm needs but you must listen and hear the answers. This is not as easy as you think for some people, particularly sales people.

When you deliver your big idea or proposal, you want to make it simple and clear for maximum impact. Explain features, advantages and benefits (F.A.B.) of how the product works, how it fits the retailer’s needs and what it delivers. You have to answer that

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“so what” question. Anticipate the likely questions in advance and use your F.A.B.s to overcome them. Your benefits really should have some financial outcome, so you should emphasize it - money talks. Using the right samples, video, TV ads, social media and mock ups will create impact and be memorable. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes and think about the amount of predictable proposals they see every week - you want to stand out from the crowd.

Then close the deal. A great presentation can be ruined by a bad close and a poor presentation can be saved by a good close, so be confident when you do it.

Closes come in all shapes and sizes: the Fear close (“order now before it goes”) is a particularly common industry favourite.

If all else fails then a last resort can be the Sympathy close (“do me a favour, please”), often heard at quarter or year end.

Remember it’s never too early to close. I’m sure we have all sat through a Mastermind pitch (“I’ve started so I’ll finish”), when the salesman or marketing manager insists on showing all 20 slides & sizzles when the buyer already loves it and is ready to order by slide six.

Some final thoughts: Avoid the hard sell. People generally don’t like to be sold to but they do like to buy, so it’s all about how you approach it with them i.e. know your customer.

Business relationships and networks still play a vital part in getting results. Suppliers and retailers should use senior relationships cultivated over time to their advantage. The pincer movement of selling something in at different business levels simultaneously can be effective when done in a way that is open and doesn’t leave people feeling undermined.

Expect emotion to play a part. This is the toy industry. Views will be subjective, whether it’s about new designs, packaging changes, colour ways etc. Don’t always expect rational behaviour and logic. It’s a passionate industry, it’s what makes it interesting and it’s one reason why we all love it.

David Ripley Groupon

A.N Sainsbury’s continued

In last month’s edition of Toy World I suggested that the potential takeover of Home Retail Group by Sainsbury’s might not be the most beneficial of tie ups for the toy industry as a whole and indeed could materially reduce the total market size and performance through the inevitable reduction of the joint retail footprint.

A month on and the race for HRG suddenly hotted up with a higher bid being tabled by

Ruth Clement Full Steam Consulting

Multi-channel toy planning for Christmas 2016 – PART 2: Webbased wish lists

Full Steam’s recent shopper study in January 2016 (amongst 500 mums of children aged 3-10) reveals that older kids are beginning to replace the catalogue with the internet as their primary source of ideas and information about toys for Christmas.

In fact, influence of the web in deciding which toys to request for Christmas has doubled from 12% in 2013 to 26% in 2015 across all ages.

Looking at toy brands on the internet is now commonplace amongst children. There are plenty of opportunities and platforms for children to engage with brands online, through websites, YouTube, downloads, games and apps and so it is perhaps not so surprising that it has become such a significant source of inspiration for toys as well.

21% of preschool aged children will point at a toy that they see on the internet to show their parent.

Steinhoff, the retailer that owns both Bensons for Beds and Harveys, effectively throwing what appeared to be a ‘done deal’ by Sainsbury’s up in the air.

In their own words the Steinhoff retail operations are positioned towards priceconscious (value) consumer segments, providing customers with affordable products through the group’s vertically integrated supply chain; which sounds exactly like the HRG retail model.

Delving deeper into the shape of the Toy businesses for both Sainsbury’s and Argos the own label ranges account for circa 20% of toys at Sainsbury’s and just 4% at Argos. For context it must be stated that the Argos range at just over 11,000 sku’s is significantly larger than the Sainsbury’s toy offer and 100% available to buy online.

The strength and advancement of the HRG digital product capability is one of the key reasons driving Sainsbury’s acquisition. The Sainsbury’s online capability, particularly in General Merchandise, is very limited to entertainment product. I would take a guess that HRG have invested more in digital development over the past 5 years than the actual touted

offer price per share that equates to the initial £1.35bn bid.

Should the Sainsbury’s bid be accepted, the approach to pricing and value will be an interesting play to watch, (the Argos offer is heavily geared to driving volume through promotions) what makes this more interesting is that Sainsbury’s has become the first to say it will completely discontinue multi-buy deals in store. Instead it will favor selling individual items at lower prices, phasing out multibuy promotions totally by August 2106. This commitment was prompted by the competition and markets watchdogs report into misleading supermarket promotions.

This move to an everyday low price offer (EDLP) will put it in direct pricing competition with the general merchandise offers at ASDA and Tesco, the former a champion of EDLP and the latter taking the same approach as Sainsbury’s in phasing out Multi-buy promotions in favour of pricing.

Sainsbury’s could benefit from extracting value from the group, therefore a co-ordinated bid or planned partial divestment after acquisition should not be ruled out.

This doubles to 42% of older children aged 8-10, at which point the internet also eclipses catalogues (30%) as the primary source of ideas.

However use of web-based wish list tools, with which to actually store, compile and communicate requests electronically, remains stubbornly low. Of the total sample, only 17% of children use the webbased options available to create a digital favourites or wish list for toys.

Older children (8-10) are leading the way in discovering and adopting web-based tools to digitally create and share their wish lists. Nearly 1 in 3 older children (29%) have created a web-based wish list. For them, the prevalence of e-readers and mobile devices has blurred the boundaries between content and commerce, from downloading books to music, accessing games and now, listing toys. If their parents are enthusiastic internet shoppers, their children are also more likely to use the internet to make a digital wish list.

The majority of families (83% of the sample), however, still don’t use web-based wish list tools. So whilst 26% of children use the internet as a source of inspiration, and 21% of preschool children use it to point out toys on screen to their parents, most children revert to compiling a wish list on paper or alternatively rely on their parents to remember the product for them. The internet as a means to make a request only works for as long as the page is on screen and there is a real risk that those toys will otherwise simply disappear out-of-sight-outof-mind as soon as a child moves on to a new webpage.

Web-based wish list tools have appeared on many e-tail sites. They are no longer a new phenomenon. In 2016 the online toy shopping experience, however, continues to be firmly rooted in the needs of adults for a clean, clinical display and purchase process. So it remains that whilst a retail website might list all the toys a child could

ever dream of having, not enough is being done through clever web design and product display to attract children and ultimately direct them through to web-based wish list tools.

So what? Well, there is a point at which the link is broken between a child’s means to engage with brands and their means to influence their parents at point of e-purchase. In “Planning a multi-channel strategy, part 1: catalogues” I reported a 30% decline in the use of catalogues by children to create wish lists, particularly by older children. Rather than wait until this broken link becomes a void, brand owners and retailers are working together to re-design wish list tools and the environments in which they sit in a way which meets shopper needs but, distinct from the shopping basket and process of their parents, appeals to children to interact with in a fun and engaging way.

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To find out how you can optimise your brands’ visibility and impact on the web, contact: www. full-steam.com/contact or leave a comment at www.full-steam.com/blog Ruth Clement founded Full Steam Consulting Ltd in 2013 after 23 years of commercial, client-side experience in Kids, Youth and Family marketing.

Ruth has observed, listened to and learned from thousands of children and parents about play, their relationships with toy brands and characters, and their attitudes and behaviours when shopping for toys. She has successfully launched dozens of new brands and introduced thousands of new products to market.

Full Steam Consulting Ltd provides Research and Marketing Services and Consultancy, combining the technical expertise of research specialists with the practical know-how of senior commercial managers who understand what it takes to drive success for brands at retail, from start to finish.

What U.S. buyers think of Mattel’s and Hasbro’s 2016 ranges Three national buyers for major retailers were kind enough to share their Toy Fair notes with me. While there were obvious differences between the three, these notes portrayed a reasonably consistent picture of what the major retailers think.

Mattel: Mattel’s main thrust in 2016 will be focused on three major themes– Barbie and the DC Super Hero Girls in the doll space; action figures for the Batman v Superman movie and tech-driven toys.

The latest major change for Barbie is the extended Fashionista line which now includes three new body styles – curvy, petite and tall – as well as seven skin tones.

The buyers cannot make up their minds to what extent this change reflects a genuine consumer preference and not just a cave-in to consumer group protests. The upside is that these new SKUs will liven up the Barbie shelf and could also attract new consumers whose preferences were not previously adequately addressed – e.g. the Latina and African American. There is, in the buyers’ opinion, little downside, since the original Barbie will still be there on the shelf and readily available to anybody not wanting to venture too far from the known and familiar.

The buyers were positive about the new Barbie Dreamhouse. It is a significant step up from the current model, which has already proven to be extremely successful in two ways. One is that the Dreamhouse, at $159.99 at TRU, is selling very well by itself. The second is that you need to buy a fair amount of accessories to properly populate the place – the average is 17 SKUs in addition to the Dreamhouse itself. The new version is much more sophisticated in that it is Wi-Fi enabled and has a voice recognition feature which allows the child to ask the house to perform a variety of tasks. At $300, the new model isn’t cheap, but the buyers think that the entire package is so novel and interesting that it will fly, even at this price. And, of course, the same principle of having to buy a ton of other Barbie stuff to make this house liveable also applies to the new version.

The DC Superhero Girls are, in the opinion of all the buyers I spoke to, in a league of their own.

The 12” figures depict Wonder Woman, Super Girl, Bumblebee, Batgirl, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, and are designed to portray a more muscular girl than the ordinary fashion doll. Their outfits are also more action oriented, hence these dolls are not just another version of the traditional superhero doll such as Wonder Woman. The entire presentation is such that the toy is believable as a female action figure rather than a fashion doll.

The range was released on March 1, first as an exclusive for Target [where it quickly captured first place in the doll category] and it will be on general distribution by summer. While the buyers were not too happy about being excluded for the first three months, they are extremely positive about the way Mattel has executed the concept and they think that the DC Superhero Girls will cross over into the action figure territory in the same way Lego Friends and Nerf Rebelle crossed over into the girls’ aisles.

As far as Mattel’s action figure programme is concerned, opinion was divided. The action figures are based on the forthcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie, scheduled for release on March

25. Some have been on sale for a while and the retailers suggested that, so far, sales are behind Star Wars and Avengers, although this may change following the release of the movie.

However, the buyers thought that the line was well executed and they were very positive about the fact that, having moved from the original DC Universe 6” figures to 3.75” figures for Multiverse, Mattel has now have reversed that approach and is presenting the Dawn of Justice series in the popular 6” format.

As for Mattel’s invasion of the high-tech space, there are three products that stand out: Barbie Star Light Adventure Hoverboard, the ThingMaker 3D printer, and the Fisher-Price Code-A-Pillar. All three are very impressive because they show the type of lateral thinking the buyers have not come to expect from Mattel. The first is particularly striking – Barbie flies through the air on her drone hovercraft, which you control remotely. The second allows you to build your own toys in your home and the third teaches the logic of computer commands using a robot bug to carry out the child’s instructions. The Barbie Hoverboard is exceptionally well priced at $59.99; the ThingMaker is $299 and the Code-A-Pillar is $50, plus $15 for each of the three expansion packs.

In summary, the buyers thought that this year’s Mattel offering was infinitely superior to what they had seen over the past decade, and they believe that the new management’s claims about changes in corporate culture appear to have been translated into real action.

Hasbro: Hasbro’s main focuses were on action figures powered by movies - Captain America, XMen, Dr Strange and of course Star Wars - and on fashion dolls from the Princess/Frozen series, as well as Moana and Alice.

One novel aspect of the action figure ranges was the number of female figures for Star Wars, Captain America and XMen, which suggests that Hasbro is attempting to blunt Mattel’s drive into the new female action figure category with its DC Super Hero Girls range. Other than that, the toys featured were well executed, but not that different from the versions that accompanied previous movies.

On the doll side, the new Disney Princess doll collection included the whole range of characters – Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderellla, Jasmine, Merida, Mulan, Pocahontas, Rapunzel, Snow White and Tiana – as part of the Royal Shimmer collection. They are not too different from the Mattel versions, except that Hasbro has designed the dolls to resemble the movie images, rather than portraying them as Barbie adaptations as Mattel did. Most of these dolls are already on the shelves and so far, Mattel’s Disney Princess dolls - which are still on the same shelves - are currently outselling the Hasbro versions.

The same applies to the three Frozen dolls shown at Toy Fair – Elsa, Anna and Kristoff – which also resemble the movie originals shown in Frozen and Frozen Fever.

Again, all three are already on the shelves and are currently being outsold by Mattel’s old version.

Elena of Avalor will be Disney’s first Latina princess and Hasbro is expected to release six SKUs to coincide with the release of the Disney Jr series later this year.

Toy World 84

This range could be good and the buyers are positive about it. It is a complete toy package directed at the Hispanic consumer and represents a first in terms of toy marketing. It could be a game changer amongst the rapidly growing Latina population, who are thought to represent about 20% of the tweens in the USA this year.

Disney’s Descendants, launched by Hasbro last year, continues to expand its offering. Originally ten characters, this is now being expanded by four more – CJ [Capt Hook], Ally [Alice], Jordan [Aladdin] and Freddy [Princess and Frog]. The new episode of Descendants, scheduled for release this autumn, will incorporate a neon lights ball, and Hasbro will launch a new doll range which lights-up.

The Moana movie will be released in November and Hasbro so far has only two SKUs available – the Moana doll and the figurine of the god Maui. There will be additional SKUs added before the movie breaks and the entire toy range is expected to be launched at the end of the third quarter.

The buyers believe that the Trolls movie, scheduled for release in November, will probably fall into the Pre-School space. This movie is greatly anticipated and the buyers think that the toy range will perform exceptionally well. There is a considerable number of solid figures, as well as plush and both ranges will be shipped at the end of the third quarter.

In summary, Mattel surprised with innovation and Hasbro focused on continuation of tested concepts, and both companies are expected to perform well this year.

By Lutz Muller

CEO of Klosters Trading Corporation, a provider of competitive insights in the mass retail space in the USA and Europe.

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Games & Puzzles

Mattel

Let the games begin With Pie Face scooping the coveted Toy of the Year award, there’s no doubt that the success of the games category was a major factor in the growth of the toy industry during 2015. Clarabel Jones looks into how this could impact upon the sector as a whole and at why retailers should be putting their game faces on this year.

L

ast year ended on a high for Hasbro and Pie Face, a victory which many believe will benefit the games category as a whole in 2016. Jeremy Pateman, country manager at Tactic Games, understands how a product which receives such a positive customer response inevitably opens up opportunities for other suppliers in the category. “A successful product such as Pie Face generates interest and improves the profile of the category as a whole,” he explained. “The fact that Pie Face’s initial video went viral on social media is of course a welcome advertisement for the board games industry.”

However, this triumph was not simply an isolated case, but can be seen to represent a resurgence in the popularity of playing games.

Board game clubs and cafes are springing up across the country, offering a social dimension to playing board games. Roger Martin, managing director at Coiledspring Games, states how, due to the increase in house prices and the

cost of going out, young adults and families have been increasingly turning to home-based activities as a means of affordable and enjoyable entertainment. As a result, both the game and puzzle categories have flourished in recent years for all ages - adults, children and families.

“The games category is healthy and growing anyway, and we can see this from the gateway and strategy game market,” he said. “However, Pie Face has undoubtedly added an extra layer of enthusiasm to the category; there was a huge amount of publicity around the game, and anything that gets consumers thinking about games is great for the whole sector.”

Jeremy also agrees that buyers’ enthusiasm for the games category could soar. With Pie Face coming from the action games category, a sector of the games market that was arguably under pressure, he believes that the game’s success may influence retailers into taking more risks when making their listings: “The board game category is growing, but the action game category has been shrinking globally as suppliers find this

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kind of product high risk,” he explained. “It’s a ‘will it or won’t it’ situation and the risk is how much product you produce. For this reason, if the success of Pie Face has made a positive impact on the industry and the buying fraternity, it will be through the confidence it gives suppliers to invest in products of this ilk.”

According to Jeremy, this is a trend which many toy companies, including Tactic Games, are planning to take advantage of. “Wandering around London’s Toy Fair, I noted that there was certainly no shortage of new action games and table top games being launched,” he said. “Assuming that suppliers have done their research, this suggests that buyers have confidence in this category. Personally, we have high hopes for Crazy Café which has had a very positive response so far.”

So after such a strong year for the game and puzzle sectors, where are the main opportunities for further growth?

“We are definitely seeing growth in low cost, easy to play and short duration action and table

Games & Puzzles top games,” Jeremy said. “However, Tactic’s medium to long term focus is our core games collection such as the Alias range which, once established in a market, is an evergreen which is good for the retailer and good for us.”

Other companies are reporting growth in their educational board game ranges, with parents seemingly keen to mix learning with the fun and interactivity that the games can offer.

Roger Martin, on the other hand, strongly believes that board games are not the only products in the categories that are making a comeback, having evidenced that the demand for jigsaw puzzles is also steadily growing, particularly amongst older generations: “The biggest interest in jigsaws is amongst the over 50s, as this age group has more disposable income and is growing rapidly. This is great for retailers, as these customers may buy something for themselves while popping in to toy stores to buy gifts for their grandchildren. However, growth amongst younger adults is evident too, and companies are picking up on this with particular artists, such as the Pets Rock brand, meeting this demand.”

“Despite its traditional image, there is a lot

of innovation within the jigsaw market, and it’s not technology driven,” Roger added. “This innovation gives retailers a chance to engage with their customers - Schmidt Spiele has spent two years creating a 1,000 piece jigsaw of such high quality that it can be picked up and carried around a room.”

Stewart Middleton, managing director at Jumbo Games, has also recognised the opportunities that lie within the adult and collector puzzle market. “We have seen lots of development in our adult puzzles, especially in our Wasgij collection, by choosing topically relevant themes to suit the unique puzzle concepts and the high level of detail and humour,” he said. “We are also releasing over 40 new Falcon puzzles this year to keep collectors happy and to offer something for everyone.”

“In terms of growth, a number of areas are looking positive with plenty of new and relaunched licences in the market, which will help drive the children’s pre-school sector,” he added. “Products with added value, such as our Giant Puzzle & Colour, value packs such as the Jumbo Bumper Puzzle Pack and our 4-in-1 puzzle, all offer tremendous play value at a low

price point.”

Whereas it is obvious that board games and puzzles sell well in the winter months and in the lead up to Christmas, companies such as Jumbo are also keen to make sure that its products have year-round appeal in stores. “Jumbo’s puzzles sell all year round; we are currently seeing strong demand due to the long evenings and bad weather keeping people indoors,” explained Stewart. “New releases and licensed products also help drive sales out of season, and seasonal and occasional promotions, such as the ones we have planned this year, certainly help retail drive sales in the summer.”

All in all, the trends and developments of the game and puzzle categories indicate that we may well be entering a golden age of board games.

Even in the midst of a digital era, their timeless traction means that both children and adults alike still see the appeal in getting together over a bundle of laughs and a board. Over the following pages, Toy World presents a selection of products on offer from a range of companies working in the game and puzzle categories.

Bananagrams 020 7298 9500 | www.bananagrams.com Bananagrams is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and to mark the occasion the brand has launched a new game, Bananagrams Party.

This new edition features 13 Party Power tiles. Each player must race to complete their word grids but will now face challenges and forfeits throughout the game. From balancing the pouch on their head, to completely destroying an opponent’s word grid, the new Party Power tiles add a new dimension to the classic game. Players can mix up whichever Party Power tiles they like.

Bananagrams has also recently launched a revamped version of the travel game, Zip-It. Zip-It is the speedy no-space word game for small spaces. It is compact enough to enjoy on an airplane tray-table, and can be played virtually anywhere. Players simply throw their cubes and use the letters to make a word grid as fast as they can, whilst their opponent is racing to do the same. Zip-It comes in a unique travel pouch that lets players keep track of who is winning.

Accentuate Games 0330 400 4162 | www.accentuategames.com Accentuate, the guess-the-accent party game backed by Peter Jones, now features 90 different quotes from famous movies. Players can pick a card and must then read the movie quote aloud in a randomly selected accent. Team mates have 30 seconds to guess the accent, and can now earn points by identifying the movie for one point, and the film’s year of release for two points. There are 30 different accents from around the globe, a third of which are homegrown British accents.

The new game is compatible with the existing Film Quotes Expansion Pack, which features a completely different set of 90 movie lines. To keep the game challenging and to appeal to a broad age range, the quotes have been taken from a spread of movies spanning eight decades, including My Fair Lady, Ghostbusters, Jaws, The Graduate, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, Casablanca, The Devil Wears Prada and Back to the Future.

Accentuate is also compatible with the new Song Lyrics Expansion Pack, which has just launched, an energetic new way to extend the game-play. Featuring 90 different lyrics from an array of famous songs spanning six decades, players can win points not only by guessing the accent, but also for correctly identifying the artist and song.

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Games & Puzzles

Coiledspring Games 020 3301 1160 | sales@coiledspring.co.uk

As featured in The Guardian, Nefarious is an action card game designed by Donald X Vaccarino, creator of the best-selling game Dominion. The game sees players become mad scientists, threatening the world into submission and racing to build inventions before their opponents can do the same. With 36 rule-changing twist cards, no two games are ever the same. 18 different artists contributed to the artwork.

The company’s gateway range offers a variety of themes to suit any family. Continuing to grow the collection, Dragonwood is the latest from Gamewright, with fantasy illustrations by Chris Beatrice.

A follow up to the successful Granna game CV, CVLizations is now available from Coiledspring Games. Offering lighter gameplay than CV with very simple rules, players must read their opponents and employ their bluffing skills as they develop their tribe, with the aim of obtaining the most happiness points.

After a rebranding, the Mensa select winning word game Anomia is back, a simple party game that has players shouting words from the category on their opponent’s card. The dynamic box has been designed to stand out on shelves and communicates the concept clearly.

For Jigsaw stockists, the new Premium Quality range from Schmidt is produced on improved 2.25mm cardboard, with individually shaped pieces for a greater variety of forms. The new quality allows jigsaws to be completed many times without loss of structural integrity, and a matte varnish banishes glare. A fine punching knife gives an accurate fit meaning that once the puzzle is completed, it can be lifted vertically by the corners.

The range includes new images from best-sellers Anne Geddes and Colin Thompson, as well as a collection of Pets Rock jigsaws. Each Pets Rock jigsaw features a gallery of nine characters. From Michael Jackson to Amy Winehouse, William Shakespeare to the Pope, each character is a quirky mash-up of a world-famous icon, given the face of a household pet.

Cartamundi 01268 511 522 | www.cartamundi.co.uk Cartamundi’s Shuffle concept, which brings together card games, downloadable apps and famous brand names, has added two more classic Hasbro game brands to the card-and-app format.

Shuffle Subbuteo allows players to pass, tackle and beat the goalie, but this card-matching game is also about players timing their moves, choosing their tactics and outwitting their opponents.

Like the classic game, Shuffle Twister invites players to move their hands and feet to various coloured dots, this time through choosing a card and following instructions.

Budding magicians have responded enthusiastically to the Carta Magic range of cards, accessories and instructions for magic trick fans of all ages, while Pitch Black, Death Poker and Calavera card packs continue to enjoy a positive response, as does the popular traditional Royal Flush range.

There are also many Cartamundi offerings based on major entertainment titles. Among the most prominent are a number of new launches inspired

by Disney Princess and Disney Pixar’s Cars, including a snap game, a 2-in-1 game and a game box, all available in spring 2016.

The Disney Princess 2-in-1 game includes a Magic Match and a Guessing Game. The game box, which comes in premium packaging, includes both games as well as six perfumed scratch-and-sniff Princess cards for the Guessing Game. The Disney Pixar’s Cars 2-in-1 game includes both a Racing Game and an Action Game. The game box, also in premium packaging, includes four buildable cards so that players can make their own car characters for the racing game.

Big Potato 020 3620 9495 | www.bigpotato.co.uk Big Potato develops, nurtures and brings to market both home-grown concepts and those of other inventors, cultivating good ideas and turning them into genuine crowd-pleasers. The company is responsible for new games Obama Llama, Qwordie, Mr Lister, Bucket of Doom, Rainbow Rage, Scrawl and OK Play, all of which are available to order now.

Created by Matt Edmondson and crafted by Big Potato, Obama Llama is the simple rhyming charades game.

Qwordie is the love child of Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit. Part quiz, part word game, the game requires players to build the answers to quirky questions using letter tiles they’ve collected and stolen. The first to spell an answer wins those tiles.

Mr Lister’s Quiz Shootout is similar to an old-style Western shootout. Every player must face a strange question and shout out a correct answer to stay alive.

Bucket of Doom is Big Potato’s delightfully dark adult party game where players have to escape from bad situations with the help of hundreds of useless objects.

In Rainbow Rage, it is the player’s job to spot which colours have moved and to grab the corresponding coloured stacks to win chips. The first person to build a rainbow with their chips, wins.

With Scrawl, players start off with a loaded phrase, doodle it and then pass it on. Points are awarded for the most disastrous doodles and guesses.

OK Play is an easy-to-understand game that can be taken anywhere and played with anyone.

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Exciting new titles for 2016

* Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway Board Game artwork subject to approval

PAUL LAMOND GAMES LIMITED 31 Newington Green, Islington, London N16 9PU Tel: 020 7254 0100 Fax: 020 7254 3400 Web: www.paul-lamond.com

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Games & Puzzles

Gibsons Games 020 8661 8866 | www.gibsonsgames.co.uk Gibsons’ classic 221B Baker Street game challenges players to solve individually written cases by travelling around the streets of Victorian London searching for clues. The game received a makeover back in 2014 from the original 1980s design, and is now presented in a smart box with simple Sherlock Holmes silhouette artwork. Since then, the game has sold at 10 times the rate and has been listed by several major accounts.

Following on from the success of 221B, the company has recently rereleased retro game Wembley. Wembley is a classic game which many will remember from the 1970s, and after collaborating with the FA, Gibsons has brought it back to life. The packaging has undergone a complete redesign, the new edition taking players back to the 100th anniversary of the FA Cup to vie for the title of Champion. Players must draw the team cards and manage their teams to the top. Players have the choice of investing their hard-earned cash in star players or of hoping the odds are in their favour when they roll the cleverly weighted dice.

Gibsons’ Snakes & Ladders and Ludo game is designed for younger children. Both games have been family favourites for decades and Gibsons has combined the two in a set with a woodland twist. With a double sided board, this set provides great value for money. The colourful box, with its sleek matte finish and beautiful illustrations, gives it strong shelf appeal.

Esdevium Games 01420 593 593 | www.esdeviumgames.com After record sales in 2015, Esdevium Games has a host of new releases and promotions for 2016.

An initiative already underway is the company’s new Timeline Challenge promotion. The Timeline Challenge rules are similar to that of its predecessor, the Dobble Challenge. Independent toy stores are tasked with selling 100 or more units of any combination of the five Timeline games before February 2017, with every unit sold earning the store a £1 bonus. The challenge is exclusive to UK bricks and mortar independent stores. Esdevium hopes this will encourage demonstrations of the game in-store, and will provide each retailer that takes the challenge 48 demo samples of the game. To provide even more retailer incentive, the company will offer the store that sells the most 48 free copies of the new Timeline British History Edition, set to launch later in 2016.

Esdevium’s range of Disney licensed games will see a number of new additions in 2016, including two licensed versions of the Dobble Card Game, Star Wars Dobble and Cars Dobble, the latter being a development on the younger Dobble Kids format.

Esdevium will also reveal a new Star Wars version of its 2015 hit picturetrivia game, Disney Pictopia. Star Wars Pictopia follows the gameplay of Disney Pictopia, quizzing players on their knowledge of images from the movie franchise. Both games will be supported by a comprehensive marketing plan with exposure from online TV advertising, wide-reaching reviews and demonstrations at events across the Q3 and Q4 period.

Drumond Park

01473 322 000 | www.drumondpark.com The Drumond Park brand’s share in children’s games rose by 22% during 2015, placing it in the number two position in this category. Building on this success, more children’s games will be launched in 2016.

Pickin’ Chickens is a game where pre-schoolers are given a card with four chicken images on it. They must spin the rotating pasture base. When it stops they pick a coop, and an image is revealed. The aim is to be the first to collect four chickens, whilst the fox may jump up randomly.

Stoopido is Drumond Park’s game of 1,000 silly faces. Every player dons the plastic glasses, and the players must roll the dice and race to be the first to make their choice of the relevant colourful cardboard appendages (eyes, noses, ears and hats), which they then hang onto the glasses of an opponent. The game ends when there is only one player left with gaps on their glasses.

With the arcade-style Crazy Claw table-top game, players can take turns to use the giant claw to catch a ball and open it up to see what image is on the token inside. The winning player is the first to collect the tokens which match the pictures on their prize card.

Dig In is the game of frantic finding fun. The aim of the game is to be the first player to collect all six items pictured on their card. There are 144 sturdy plastic pieces in the bowl 36 everyday items, each one in four different colours.

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touchingbase

Major players Following on from a phenomenal year for games, Clarabel Jones spoke to toy companies about the effects Pie Face’s success could have on buyers’ enthusiasm for the category, and on the emerging trends and developments within the games industry.

Timothée Dumain Morning Family

The popularity of Pie Face has been astounding, and the exposure after the viral videos has been incredible, with everyone from Ellen DeGeneres to Ashton Kutcher getting in on the action. As such an accessible game, it’s had a great impact on the games category as a whole, as it has drawn in a crowd to take a closer look at what else is on the shelf.

However, it isn’t only the success of Pie Face that’s helped increase buyers’ enthusiasm for the games category. Other games such as Accentuate, Obama Llama and The Voting Game are accessible to non-expert gamers and have proven to be a lot of fun, yet still have some substance. Bloggers and key influencers on YouTube have been getting behind them, subsequently creating a demand that buyers need to meet.

In my opinion, there are two key areas for growth in the game and puzzle categories at the moment. Party games continue to be a strong genre; Cards Against Humanity, Exploding Kittens and Bucket of Doom are instant party pleasers, and there’s still huge demand for more. We are breaking into the party game category ourselves with our new game Gobbit and Gobbit Angry Birds, once the film premieres later this year. The other area I see as having potential is the “gateway” game market that occupies the space between real hardcore, long-form strategy games and party games. These games are intelligent yet accessible, such as Geistez Blitz and Code Names, for example. There are some great things happening in this space and it would be good to see more retailers following in the footsteps of Firebox, Waterstones and Rules of Play in embracing this category.

We are preparing for the launch of Scythe, the latest addition to the Stonemaier Games collection, as well as two other titles which we will be releasing around Essen Spiel in October. The buzz around Scythe has been incredible. We receive daily enquiries about it from bloggers and YouTubers in the gaming field, and when BoardGameGeek ran its poll on which games were the most anticipated in 2016, Scythe won hands down. We’re not preoccupied simply by peak season, as the titles we offer are in high demand throughout the year.

Trudi Bishop Cartamundi

I do think that Pie Face winning 2015’s Toy of the Year award has had a positive impact on the games category as a whole. The game came from nowhere to enjoy phenomenal growth, and I believe it is the simplicity of the concept that makes it work so well with consumers. Equally important, however, is the fact that it gives a great value offering to retailers. This can then have a positive impact on other games in the same space. Having seen the appeal of Pie Face, retailers may be willing to try newer, low-tech concepts, rather than being blinded by the bling of some complicated gadgets with no guaranteed appeal. In fact, I think it’s already happening.

I also think this has made buyers think more about the potential sales opportunities for categories outside tech-led games. The simplicity and good value of Pie Face demonstrates to buyers that sometimes going back to basic fun works best. Of course, basic fun never went away; buyers just need to be reminded once in a while.

In addition there is more parental concern around screen time and children being too reliant on device-driven entertainment. By contrast, the games and puzzles category allows parents to have valuable family time and face-to-face contact with their children.

The fact that this area is a growing presence on NPD’s research results speaks volumes.

One obvious opportunity for growth in the game and puzzle categories lies in simple family games that are easy and quick to play, such as Cartamundi’s Snap games. These bring families together but don’t take up too much time, so don’t impact upon timepoor parents. Licensed products in both games and puzzles will also drive growth; we offer Snap games, among others, in a number of licensed versions. This sort of game appeals to children and makes it easy for parents and gift-givers to shop for recognisable characters which their kids like. This is especially useful when there are too many toys and games to choose from.

Whether licensed or not, games and puzzles offer great value for money for buyers and consumers alike. They can be played over and over again or handed down to other children, and they also work across generations.

Games and puzzles do have an advantage outside of peak season. They are of course perfect for the cold long days after the excitement of Christmas but these are not the only times families are together. We see real opportunity in the school holidays, and in particular the summer holidays, which are lengthy and not always blessed with good weather. In fact Cartamundi’s Shuffle range was developed specifically with travel in mind. The range offers fantastic family card games based on well-known favourite board games. They are perfect for taking on holiday and for getting the family together in the evenings.

Regular playing cards are a winner all year round and we capitalise on this with traditional Royal Flush cards and cool designer-led versions such as Calavera or Pitch Black decks. However it is designed, the four suit deck is perfect for adult and children’s games, bringing people together even across language barriers, not just around the November/December peak selling period but every day.

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Games & Puzzles

Richard Wells Paul Lamond Games

In some cases Pie Face has certainly had a positive impact, although in other cases there has been no effect at all - it really comes down to the individual retailer. Some retailers base their decision purely on one product, whereas others look at the success of the category as a whole, therefore allocating additional shelf space. However, any product that gives the games and puzzles category a boost must be viewed as a positive move, and Pie Face has certainly done that.

Two key areas that provide good growth opportunities for us at Paul Lamond are our evergreen products, alongside a strong selection of licensed games and puzzles.

Encouraging retailers to stock our perennial sellers such as Perudo and Subbuteo is important for growth, but it is vital that these renowned games are complemented with a mix of hot licences each year. Mrs Brown’s Boys, QI and Gogglebox have been major successes for us over the last few years, and for 2016 Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway alongside children’s favourites Noddy and Danger Mouse look set to be big hits.

Our children’s and pre-school games and puzzles are very strongsellers for us all year round. Games such as It’s a Chicken, The Story Telling Game and Tyrannosaurus Rex make perfect birthday presents for youngsters and our pre-school 4-in-1 Games Boxes make great party presents. Parents also have to contend with keeping the children entertained during school holidays and when out and about, so we find our licensed card games and travel games such as Are We There Yet and QI Travel Game great all year round sellers too.

Kate Armitage Gibsons Games

Pie Face is a fantastic example of a simple concept that appeals to all ages. Such a successful product has no doubt enthused buyers and would appear to be having a positive impact on the category and listings.

However, Pie Face isn’t the only success story. In the last two years we have seen an increase in our board game sales, driven largely by the relaunch of our detective game, 221B Baker Street. The family game seems to be back in favour, which has inspired Gibsons to look back at past games and bring back some of the greatest, including the classic game Wembley. We are also innovating with new games that target a similar market to Hasbro’s pie-throwing board game, which we hope will get the whole family laughing. We are seeing our buyers devote more shelf space to games, which is great for us.

There is definitely opportunity outside of the peak season and we are seeing comparably good sales on our most popular games during the rest of the year. The gift market is helping influence this, but the discussion in the media about the resurgence of the family game and the issues regarding traditional games versus tech toys has also helped. Although this debate may have parents stumped, it all helps support the board game industry, keeping it buoyant throughout the year and reminding people of the value of sitting down and playing a game with the whole family.

Lindsay Hardy

Ben Hogg

Trends UK

Esdevium Games

The global success of Pie Face has certainly contributed to the success of the category and is perhaps one of the more recent catalysts for putting games back on the map for retailers. The category is still in the midst of a modern ‘golden age’, and we have seen sales and interest grow for a number of years now.

It’s difficult to say whether the game will have an impact on buyers’ enthusiasm for the category as a whole, as we can only compare the enthusiasm we have seen for our products, but you would hope so. There have been regular stories in consumer media on the rise of board gaming as a family activity and these stories are absolutely accurate.

There has been lots of positivity on the category, from NPD highlighted growth to record-breaking Kickstarter campaigns and the rise of shows such as the UK Games Expo. I would imagine it is a combination of all of these factors.

More and more families are seeing board games as a way of spending time together, so we always see peaks in interest at times when there is extended family time.

The success of Pie Face has certainly raised awareness and appetite among consumers for games that aren’t computer related. However, it’s perhaps too early to say whether it has had an influence on the games category and shelf space, as not all the listings are in yet.

It has however had an impact on buyers’ enthusiasm for the category as a whole.

The popularity and positive media attention has created a big appetite amongst a much larger mainstream audience, outside the traditional mum and dad buyer, who are now looking for more fun games to play.

We are launching the new Wet Head game in the UK this year and it has already been tipped as the next game success. The brilliance of Wet Head is that it is really simple, but fun to play. All players have to do is add water, and it offers a fantastic pay off that makes both children and adults laugh. Wet Head is already gaining a huge momentum on social media, securing millions of views. We are also running a campaign with Google that will maximise Wet Head’s fame online.

There is a huge opportunity for travel games that don’t rely on electronic devices.

Compact games, such as the new Name That! game from Megableu, are perfect for trips as they come in a pocket-sized, round tin. Brilliant fun, the quick thinking quiz game is easy to play for all ages and it will never run out of power.

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Games & Puzzles

Hasbro 0208 569 1234 | www.hasbro.co.uk

Cheatwell Games 0239 252 4098 | www.cheatwell.com

In the new Simon Air Game, classic Simon gameplay gets a modern twist with touch-free technology.

Players can play solo against the new Simon Air game or can team up with a friend and work together to remember the sequence, repeat the pattern and conquer the game. The Simon game senses every hand motion and registers correct sequences. If the pattern is repeated incorrectly, a buzzer will sound and signal the end of the game.

The player with the highest score wins.

The new Bop It game prompts kids to Hammer It, Sing It, Selfie It and more with 10 new voice commands. The game is an electronic unit that includes three games, all of which can be played in solo or social mode.

This autumn will see the launch of the new Monopoly Ultimate Banking game.

Unlike Monopoly Electronic Banking, where only the player credit cards work with the unit, all cards in Monopoly Ultimate Banking now work with the Ultimate Banking Unit. The game allows fans to track their wealth, buy properties, collect rent and watch their fortunes rise and fall.

In the Pop! Pop! Piñata game, players take turns hitting the button on the base to send the disk spinning upward toward the donkey piñata. A gentle hit releases a few prizes for the player to collect. A hard hit will pop open the piñata releasing all of the prizes, but that also means that all players can race to collect the prizes. The player with the most prizes wins.

Pass The Pen, a new family game from Cheatwell Games, has already generated exceptional interest and pre-orders at both Toy Fair and Spring Fair. To play, players pick a card and roll the dice to determine what they’ll be drawing, and then sketch the image whilst the nib of the pen slowly retracts before disappearing completely. The player’s opponents must guess what they are drawing. The game will be available in June.

Also joining Cheatwell’s range for 2016 is Telepaths, the matching game of crazy connections and logical links. Telepaths will also be available in June.

For pre-schoolers, the company has a co-operative storytelling game, Tell-a-Tale. The wooden base comes complete with a double-sided backdrop, four sturdy wooden dice and up to 24 play pieces. Players can take it in turns to roll the dice and can use them to decide what happens to the characters. Tell-a-Tale strengthens creative thinking, problem solving and verbalisation whilst introducing younger children to the joy of storytelling in a non-competitive environment. There are three themes, Pirate, Fairy Tale and Farmyard, all featuring a range of fun characters. Tell-a-Tale will be available from April.

Paul Lamond Games 020 7254 0100 | www.paul-lamond.com

New games on the way from Paul Lamond this year include Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Dr Eureka and Stinky Pig as well as the UK launch of the first Escape the Room party game.

Escape the Room’s real-venue challenges are becoming one of the country’s fastest growing crazes and Paul Lamond’s Mystery at the Stargazer’s Manor, available in June, will be the UK’s first Escape the Room-style party game that can be played in the comfort of the player’s own home.

The Mystery at the Stargazer’s Manor game will see players locked in a room where they have to use teamwork, observation skills and their initiative to find clues, solve a series of puzzles and escape from the room in a set time limit.

The game is for three to eight players and will take approximately 90 minutes to play. Paul Lamond is also set to launch other Escape the Room titles later in the year.

Also new for autumn is the Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway board game. Players must take on the Ant vs Dec challenges and perform to their friends, avoiding Little Ant and Dec’s forfeits.

In Stinky Pig, players must pass the pig around while it sings its tune, without getting caught holding it when the music stops.

Dr Eureka is a new game for young budding scientists. Players must solve the scientific formulas by mixing the molecules from tube to tube without touching them with bare hands.

In addition to these games Paul Lamond is also introducing Squeak, That Flipping Word Game and a new Murder Mystery dinner party game: The Diamonds, The Dagger and One Classy Dame to its 2016 line-up, as well as 100 and 250-piece children’s puzzles for Danger Mouse, Jacqueline Wilson and Where’s Wally.

Toy World 98

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Games & Puzzles

Jumbo Games 01707 289 289 | www.jumbo.eu

Launching this April to support the highly anticipated release of Disney’s The Jungle Book, Jumbo has produced a range of jigsaw puzzles which use artwork from the classic story. There are four puzzles in the range, including an assortment of four 50-piece puzzles, a 4-in-1 puzzle set, a 50-piece Giant Floor puzzle and a 100XL-piece puzzle.

Both The Lion Guard and Miles from Tomorrow releases are proving to be popular new additions to Jumbo’s Disney portfolio. The range of puzzles available for both new properties are a 4x35-piece puzzle assortment, a 2-in-1 and 4-in-1 puzzle set, Giant Floor Puzzle and a 100XL puzzle.

There will also be refreshes across Jumbo’s range, incorporating new style guides which will appeal to pre-school fans.

For those eagerly awaiting the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice film, Jumbo has the perfect range of DC superhero puzzles and games for young fans.

The Batman 100-piece puzzle assortment is the most popular in the range, as well as the 2D to 3D Puzzle & Build that allows children to piece together an entertaining 2D puzzle and then, using the specially designed pieces, construct a 3D model of the iconic Batmobile and superhero figurines.

Also available in Jumbo’s superhero puzzle offering is the brightly coloured and hugely popular DC Super Friends range. The range includes a 4-in-1 puzzle set that includes a 16, 24, 35 and 50-piece puzzle that is progressive to help youngsters develop problem-solving skills.

Jumbo has also continued to grow its pre-school properties, with colourful refreshes across the popular Peppa Pig puzzle range and the release of the new Ben & Holly double-sided Puzzle & Colour.

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ign TV campa 2016 Autumn

NAME THAT...!

Person, place, thing… The quick thinking name game. Be first to name the most words that fit the category. ign TV campa 2016 Autumn

NEW

www.megableu.com

ign TV campa 2016 Autumn

COBRATTACK Can you beat the Cobra?

Can you grasp the secret diamond before the Cobra sees you?

How quick are you?

CREEPY HAND The ghoulish Creepy Hand will point at you for a challenge… truth or dare!

ALIEN MISSION EVOLUTION

GIRAF’FUN RACE for HATS! Run through the jungle and eat as many fruit balls as possible.

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To place an order please contact: +44 (0)1295 768078 salesadmin@trendsuk.co.uk www.trendsuk.co.uk

DKL 01604 678 780 | www.dkl.co.uk Scratch Traditional Toys, distributed by DKL, has launched several new games and puzzles for 2016.

The new Sardines Fish Game offers lots of play value. Using magnetic fishing poles, children must try to catch more fish than their opponent. The Fish Game also includes two scoreboards for kids to hang the fish they have caught and to tally up their score.

Also new from Scratch is the retro Tin Pinball Game, available in a circus or pirate theme. The classic is packaged in a convenient hanging box.

Scratch Magnetic Darts is available in large or small sizes, with dartboards which come packaged in a fun tube, including enough darts for two players. Each dartboard is reversible with two games on each side. The Magnetic Darts FSDU holds 20 large dart games, 24 small dart games and one demonstration game for in-store promotion.

Miniland, DKL’s educational range, boasts a new On the Go selection of travel games. New for 2016 is the Discover Science CDU which holds a collection of 16 science-themed games. The four styles include Space Trip, Check Up Scanner, Sea Mystery and Evolution. Each game is foldable and includes magnetic game pieces.

DKL supports Scratch and Miniland with full marketing campaigns including in-store events, planograms, PR and social media activity.

Morning Family 020 3445 0919 | www.morning-family.com Morning Family publishes and distributes a select portfolio of games throughout the UK and Europe.

The company has recently secured the exclusive UK and Europe distribution rights to Exploding Kittens, the card game which made history when it became Kickstarter’s biggest success story.

The Stonemaier Games range includes Viticulture Essential, Euphoria, Between Two Cities and the most eagerly anticipated game of 2016 according to BoardGameGeek users, Scythe.

Colorku is a Sudoku game made entirely from wood. Numbers are replaced with colours, and the game comes with puzzle cards and solutions.

Kumo Hogosha is an abstract strategy game that is similar to chess, but with a theme beautifully illustrated by Frédéric Genêt and the added complication of a rotating game board. Each player has six Kumotori that hold six abilities each, with the aim being to beat their opponent with the best strategy.

Gobbit is a new, fast-paced snap-style card game that works for both young children and adults. Based on the food chain, players slap cards representing animals lower down in the food chain than their own cards, whilst protecting their own cards from animals higher in the food chain.

V-Cubes, offered in sizes 2x2x2 through to 8x8x8, are puzzle cubes which boast a different internal mechanism to the classic puzzle cubes on the market, allowing for a smoother, faster rotation. V-Cubes are available in both the familiar flat shape and a new pillow shape.

Games & Puzzles

Kidicraft

01282 505 988 | www.kidicraft.com Kidicraft was formed as a distributor of puzzles and arts and crafts materials for younger audiences. The company holds licences from the National Geographic image library, alongside 3D puzzle ranges from famous British artists Howard Robinson and Kevin Walsh.

The National Geographic Society is one of the largest non-profit, scientific and educational institutions in the world and Kidicraft is keen to promote the society’s many conservation issues through its range of products. Using pictures from its vast library and combining this with quality 3D lenticular printing gives a depth and movement to the products’ scenes.

Kidicraft’s National Geographic range includes lenticular (Magic Motion) 3D puzzles, notebooks with 3D covers, 3D postcards and children’s stationery sets, each of which includes a magic motion pencil case, a Super 3D notebook, two push pencils, a Super 3D ruler, four colour markers and an eraser.

2016 additions to the National Geographic range include 63-piece puzzles featuring baby chimps and gorillas and baby African lions.

There are also 100 and 150-piece puzzles featuring animals from pandas and sharks to meerkats and tigers, and 500-piece puzzles featuring famous ancient buildings.

Howard Robinson is a well-known British artist based in the North East of England who is famous for his colourful and vibrant paintings of sea life and animals, as well as his imaginative images of dinosaurs. There are four 100-piece puzzles and three 500-piece puzzles in this range.

Kevin Walsh is best known for his beautiful paintings of nostalgic British scenes which include famous images such as the Flying Scotsman, Windsor Castle and the Seaside. All of Kevin Walsh’s puzzles consist of 500 pieces.

Orchard Toys 01953 859 539 | www.orchardtoys.com Orchard Toys has announced the launch of six new games and jigsaws to its award-winning offering.

Giant Railway is a fun railway-themed jigsaw which interlinks with the company’s best-selling puzzle Giant Road, Giant Town and all extras packs. Children can build multiple railway tracks with the 22 interchangeable track, station, train and character pieces.

The Giant Railway jigsaw is also supported by the launch of three interchangeable expansion packs, which are all compatible with the Giant Road System: Station, Junctions and Airport. The expansion packs contain add-on pieces to the Giant Road, Giant Town and Giant Railway jigsaws, extending play value and providing opportunities for imaginative play.

Woodland Party is a colourful 70-piece jigsaw depicting an enchanted woodland with lots of children and animal characters. Once the jigsaw is complete, parents can use the included talkabout guide to encourage discussion and imagination.

Where Do I Live? is an award-winning animals of the world lotto which allows children to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world as they match animals to their habitats around the world.

Double-sided boards feature interesting animal and habitat facts to encourage educational discussion and learning.

Re:creation 01189 736 222 | www.recreationltd.co.u

k Re:creation is set to make its mark on the games category with three new launches, each of which will be supported with dedicated heavyweight TV and PR. The recent addition to Re:creation’s launch portfolio, Who Tooted by Goliath Games, is packed with light-hearted fun and toilet humour. The game has already proven highly successful in both the Netherlands, where it achieved Game of the Year status, and in the US where it launched last autumn. The game, which includes mini whoopee cushion style play pieces, sees players attempt to work out who tooted through guessing and bluffing.

Dynamite Dare and Electronic Spy Code by Yulu Toys bring new excitement to the games aisle with strong and popular themes.

Dynamite Dare introduces players to life in the Wild West as they attempt to protect a gold mine from thief Buffalo Bill as he plans to steal the treasure with the help of dynamite. As players take turns to flick switches, they must attempt to defuse the dynamite against the timer. Winners in each round can add a gold coin to their collection. The winner is the player with the most gold coins by the end of the game.

Electronic Spy Code capitalises on a fascination with spy devices and tricks as players attempt to get their hands on the contents of a locked safe. Using clues given via a spy listening device, players must use their powers of deduction to work out the code to crack the safe.

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Games & Puzzles

Winning Moves 0207 298 9507 | www.winningmoves.co.uk Winning Moves is bringing to market the new Top Trumps Quiz, which comes with 500 questions to test fans’ knowledge on all the unforgettable moments from the Star Wars Saga.

New Peppa Pig Junior Monopoly is the ideal introduction to the world’s favourite board game.

Children can drive a car from house to house to see what surprises Miss Rabbit has in store, or what treats can be found in Mr Fox’s Van. Winning Moves also welcomes a new addition to the Top Trumps family: Top Trumps Match, The Crazy Cube Game. New Top Trumps Match is launching with both Disney Princess and Avengers editions. Children must try to be the first to match five of their favourite characters in a line.

Winning Moves’ Shopkins Guess Who game is packed with 48 different characters from season one.

Trends UK/Wind Designs 01295 768 078 | www.trendsuk.co.uk Distributed by Trends UK and Wind Designs and developed by Zing, Wet Head is the water roulette game which has become an internet sensation in the US, with celebrity YouTubers taking the Wet Head challenge, securing millions of views in just a few months.

Full of suspense, the aim of the game is to stay dry for as long as possible. Wearing the water filled Wet Head hat, wrong answers oblige players to pull out a rod. If they choose the wrong one, the drenching commences.

The Wet Head game comes with a free app with fun trivia questions and a function to record funny moments to share on social media. The game will be available through Trends UK and Wind Designs from spring 2016.

Trends UK

Megableu and Trends UK will support the existing portfolio of popular games and introduce new titles into the market for 2016, with high profile TV advertising and social media campaigns.

Famous for its game-play features, 3D effects and strong visual recognition, the Megableu range includes best-selling titles such as Ghost Hunt, Alien Mission, Creepy Hand and Cobra Attack.

In Giraf’ Fun players must move the giraffe through the jungle while it seeks fruit. Every time a player’s giraffe picks up a jungle fruit snack, the neck gets longer. When the giraffe’s neck is full length it can don a hat and race to the finishing line.

The new electronic Name That game puts players’ quick thinking skills to the test. Players compete to name that person, place or thing that matches the category.

Break Out is a race against two players to line up the rope pieces so their jail bird can climb down the wall and escape.

Golden Bear 01952 608 308 | www.goldenbeartoys.com

Golden Bear’s In the Night Garden Pick ‘n’ Place Wooden Puzzle includes six chunky pieces designed for little hands, each shaped as a different character from the popular TV show. The pieces must be slotted into the correct place, helping to develop manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination skills.

The Wooden Dress-up Mr Tumble aims to get little ones mixing and matching.

An entertaining and fun puzzle, children can create their favourite interchangeable Something Special characters.

Something Special Roll and Play is also for early learning. The plush cube contains a bell which gently sounds when the cube is rolled and comes complete with 36 activity cards. Children can roll the cube, pick up a card and follow the instructions. Great for either multiplayer or individual play, each card relates to either emotions, numbers, recognition, colours, Makaton signs or activities.

Golden Bear’s Something Special portfolio is set to expand further this autumn with the new Mr Tumble Fun Felts. The set comes complete with over 50 colourful felt characters, outfits and accessories to choose from, helping to encourage youngsters to experiment with creative play.

Available from July, the Sooty Mischief and Magic Set includes a magic Sooty hand puppet dressed in a fun magician’s outfit, as well as wand, colour changing hanky, whoopee cushion and a book of mischief and magic ideas.

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RAV_TW_April16_FullPAge_FINAL.pdf

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DISCOVER puzzles with sparkle and light Get ‘em if you can!

19660 Santa’s Christmas Party Limited Edition, 1000pc Available July

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www.ravensburger.com/uk

Sales HOTLINE 01869 363 800

Games & Puzzles

Piece by piece Clarabel Jones spoke to Stuart White, Puzzles and Play’s sales director, about their recent entry into the licensed product category and on the company’s plans for further growth.

Tell us a little bit about the company and how you came to enter the toy market?

We’ve been in the model and hobby market for the last 13 years, and have grown rapidly to become a major supplier of plastic model kits and supplies for that sector. In 2014, we decided to diversify and expand our ranges to include jigsaw puzzles, which opened up new customers within the toy and craft markets. This proved to be very successful so we decided to expand our ranges further and to offer a larger selection of toy and craft products for these customers.

What products have contributed to the company’s growth in the toy sector?

Jigsaws have been key as they opened doors to a lot of new customers in a short space of time.

Our range of pre-school games has also proved popular and has provided us with regular repeat orders throughout the year.

How was toy fair season for Puzzles and Play?

This was the first year we’ve attended Toy Fair, and we received a number of new contacts who we have not seen before at Spring Fair. Overall all of our shows were successful and we received a very positive response on both our new products and our existing ranges.

How are you planning on growing the business further in 2016 and beyond?

We have just had three new sales agents start working with us which will greatly improve our coverage with retailers. Our biggest problem will be keeping up with supply and anticipating the volume lines, as we have so many new products and customers - but it is a nice problem to have.

We are also introducing a number of new craft lines which look like they are going to be well supported as they are existing well-known brands.

What are your key new product introductions for 2016?

Our Plush Hearts toy series has been revamped this year with new SKUs and improved packaging. This was our most popular line at both London’s Toy Fair and Spring Fair, and sales of the new FSDU were even better than expected.

Cardinal games is also going to be strong for us as customers are already aware of the brand and have had success in the past with this range. The Paw Patrol products from Cardinal have also received a large amount of interest as well.

What do you think are the advantages of being a new company in the market?

We are in the enviable position where the company is supported by our existing business from the model and hobbies trade. We are not wholly reliant on our toy business which means we can afford to be more flexible in our approach and can create an entirely new strategy to suit our toy customers’ requirements.

This is not easy to do as an established company, but if you can’t adapt and listen to customers they will find suppliers that can.

Customers have said how refreshing it is to have a supplier which offers live stocks, low carriage paid orders and which gives them the ability to

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order in singles, which are all great selling points for us as a new supplier.

Can you tell us a bit about your first entry into the licensed product category?

We are doing a range of Paw Patrol products from Cardinal Games. The range includes playing cards, dominoes and a selection of puzzles, all at great pricing - especially considering it is licensed.

We expect Paw Patrol to be a must-have licence once again this year and are extremely pleased to be working alongside Spin Master with these products.

Timeline Challenge - Toy World.indd 1

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Games & Puzzles

Ravensburger

01869 363 800 | www.ravensburger.com Ravensburger’s autumn/winter puzzles and games range will be supported with TV campaigns on key lines, and offers something for every age, taste and ability.

The company’s children’s licensed puzzle range offers a wide range of quality properties and product formats. 14 high profile characters will join the best-selling range this autumn. These include Teletubbies, The Secret Life of Pets, Angry Birds, Goldie and Bear, Go Jetters, Finding Dory, Dora and Friends, My Little Pony, Moana, Emoji, Star Darlings, The BFG, The Lion Guard and Avengers Assemble. There are also additions to existing popular ranges such as Paw Patrol, Bing, In the Night Garden, Thomas & Friends, Twirlywoos, Disney Frozen, Disney Princess, Minions/ Despicable Me, and Marvel Spider-Man. The popular Limited Edition Christmas Puzzle celebrates its 20th anniversary with a design entitled Santa’s Christmas Party. This sits alongside numbers 15 and 16 in the What If? comedy range, titled Christmas Day and The Wedding.

There are new launches in the Best of British, Garden Vistas, Colin Thompson, Country Cottage, Happy Days, My Haven, I Love London, Disney, Avian World and Perplexing Puzzle ranges, plus designs from renowned British artists Beryl Cook and John Francis and the launch of Puzzle Handy, the foldaway puzzle board.

The family games category remains a key focus for autumn/ winter 2016, with best-sellers Labyrinth, Scotland Yard, Bugs in the Kitchen and Eye Found It being supported with a heavyweight TV campaign throughout the autumn.

Ravensburger’s high-quality sturdy plastic puzzles remain a key focus for the company, and the new light-up Chrysler Building and Statue of Liberty items will feature in a substantial TV campaign that will run throughout the autumn and during the build up to Christmas.

Spin Master 01628 535 000 | www.spinmastertoys.co.uk

University Games 03334 050 120 | www.university-games.co.uk 5 Second Rule will be one of University Games’ main focuses this year. Having featured on The Ellen Show in the US and now available to view on YouTube, the fast-paced game was played by celebrity gamers, including Ricky Gervais, Justin Bieber and Adele.

To capitalise on this, 5 Second Rule will have a prominent TV advertising campaign with a mix of online and offline marketing and PR support to showcase some of the world’s biggest names in showbiz playing the game.

Launching this summer, Googly Eyes, Word Has It and Red Herring further bolster University Games’ position in the board games market, adding to its portfolio of family friendly games.

Word Has It will be supported with a strong PR campaign targeted at raising brand awareness.

Googly Eyes will be supported with TV advertising, and the drawing game will also receive PR and marketing support to help drive sales and gameplay. With its visual nature, the game will also benefit from people sharing pictures of their drawings and themselves in the game’s glasses on social media sites, something which has already created success for other board games across the sector.

Other core games will also receive TV support for 2016 including Don’t Rock the Boat and Bunny Jump.

The company will also continue to push its Great Exploration portfolio of stars and planets as well as its range of mini-games.

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Spin Master continues to see yearon-year success with its portfolio of games including number one seller, Hedbanz. The popular range of What Am I? quick question games now boasts three lines, Hedbanz, Disney Hedbanz and Hedbanz Adults, to cater to families and children alike. In 2016 the consistently successful performance of Hedbanz will be supported with a strong TV campaign running through the fourth quarter.

This spring will see the launch of 14 new Paw Patrol products, including more pre-school games and an array of different types of puzzles, adding to the phenomenal success of Spin Master’s existing range of toys, plush and pre-school games. The Paw Patrol Pups in Training game will bring home the action and adventure from the cartoon series. The new Paw Patrol range will include a selection of lenticular, wood, super 3D and foam puzzles as well as action games such as tic-tac-toe, pop-up and memory match.

Games & Puzzles

John Adams

01480 414 361 | www.johnadams.co.uk John Adams is expanding its established games portfolio in 2016 with a range of new products.

Having received positive reviews from recent toy fairs, the fast reaction game Silly Sausage looks set to be a winner in 2016. Suitable for solo or competitive play, the aim of the game is to twist, shake, stretch and poke to keep up with Silly Sausage as he shouts out his instructions. Featuring 10 games, Silly Sausage will provide hours of family fun.

Joining the company’s action games portfolio is Soggy Doggy. In this game, players must race around the board washing and grooming Soggy Doggy, but if they get wet when the dog shakes, it’s straight back to the start. The first person to make it round the doggy basket wins. The Soggy Doggy game includes Soggy Doggy in his bath, one grooming brush, one shampoo spray bottle and one game board with four game pieces, four tokens and a dice.

Also within John Adams’ action games portfolio is Splashy the Whale. Players must take turns to remove objects from the whale’s mouth as he bobs up and down by hooking an object with their fishing rod. If players tickle Splashy’s tongue he will squirt them with water and they must return the item they removed. The person who can remove the most items is the winner.

Splashy the Whale comes complete with a motorised Splashy, 13 pieces of sea debris and a fishing rod.

Puzzle addicts and Rubik’s fanatics will love the new Rubik’s Spark, a new electronic cube that includes six challenging games to test players’ memory, speed, dexterity and logic. The Rubik’s Spark features a new dimension of games control; players can simply tilt and turn the cube to enjoy an interactive experience guided

by LED lights. The spark also contains special sensors to determine when and where the lights are moving as the cube is rotated.

HTi 01253 775 684 | www.htigroup.co.uk HTi’s in-house games range provides an extensive selection of traditional board, family and strategy games from Draughts, Chess, Ludo and Snakes & Ladders to Bingo & Lotto. The games range also includes playing cards and snap cards as well as compact magnetic compendium travel games that offer four classic board games in one. All the magnetic play accessories can be stored away in the pocket-sized locking cases.

With robust quality designs and colourful artwork, the range offers great value gameplay of classic favourites with maximum on-shelf visibility and customer appeal.

Combining the safe traditional play value of wooden toys with one of the toy industry’s most respected manufacturer of own-brand names, HTi’s own Wood Works range comprises traditionally crafted, premium quality wooden toy lines. The Wood Works pre-school offering includes colourful chunky shape sorters, a learning clock, alphabet and number puzzles, dominoes, an abacus, chalk board and jumbo floor puzzle. Assorted peg puzzles provide little ones with hours of shape sorting with pegs that are perfect for little fingers.

All of Wood Works’ pre-school puzzles have been designed to help develop recognition of numbers, letters, shapes and colours as well as enhance hand-eye coordination, cognitive abilities and stimulate visual development.

Mattel 01628 500 111 | www.mattel.com Mattel continues to provide entertainment for the whole family with its portfolio of games, from staple favourites to new launches.

This autumn/winter sees the introduction of Gas Out, the aim of which is to be the last player to pass Guster the Gas Cloud without him passing wind. Players can take turns playing Gas Out number cards in their hand and pressing Guster as many times as shown. If Guster passes wind during a player’s turn, they’re out. Also included are special game-changing Gas Out cards such as skip and reverse.

Bounce Off, the ultimate head-tohead competition, sees the launch of Bounce Off Rock n Rollz, a new version of the classic that features a game tray that rocks and rolls. In teams of one or two players, each team must pick a card for their relevant colour and bounce the ball onto the board to form the shape shown on the card. Shifting weight and a tilting board add a challenging element to the game.

Uno is supported with a digital marketing campaign called Wild4UNO to communicate the new customisation feature. A strong product range for autumn/winter includes the TV advertised Uno Wild Jackpot that combines suspense and unpredictability. Other Uno classics within the range include Uno Cards Get Wild and Uno Junior.

Scrabble continues to remain a popular choice for fun and educational challenges. A strong range for the full year includes Scrabble Original, Scrabble Junior, Scrabble Travel and Scrabble Deluxe.

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All your favourite board games as fast action card games – all in tough travel ready boxes.

Š 2016 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Hasbro.

Available for delivery now!

NEW! sales@cartamundi.co.uk +44 1286 511 522 @ShuffleGames

Games & Puzzles

Puzzles and Play

01354 669 733 | www.puzzlesandplay.co.uk Puzzles and Play has announced its newest range of games from Cardinal Games. The range comprises much-loved classics including bingo, chess, backgammon, tumbling tower bricks, snakes and ladders and various playing card sets as well as many others. There are also compilation sets of two or more games in the range. This large range provides retailers with an opportunity to tailor their products to particular markets. Several of the games in the range are available in different versions, such as with a cardboard playing board for a budget purchase, or with a wooden board for a higher quality purchase. The product portfolio also extends to cover the adult customer, with a range of high quality poker chip sets.

Eurographics is well known for its diverse range of jigsaw images. In 2016 Eurographics has numerous exciting releases ranging from portrait style puzzles to colour-me jigsaw puzzles and city skylines. The range includes pictures of John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis as well as a London skyline.

Eurographics’ Collections range is expanded with images of Life Magazine covers, VW Beetles, British car history, roses and an up-to-date Emoji jigsaw.

Heye has also announced a varied range of new products for 2016 with numerous art designs, art portraits, landscapes, animals as well as the popular cartoon jigsaws. New cartoon titles include a circus, Stonehenge, Brazil and an Olympic crowd.

Vivid Imaginations 01473 322 000 | www.vividimaginations.co.uk Crayola has three exciting new games for 2016. 3,2,1 Draw! is ideal for on-the-go fun with a variety of play options in one stowaway set.

Inspiration dice generate ideas for drawings so kids can play on their own, but can also challenge family and friends to guess their sketch.

Players are against the clock as the Pipsqueak pen has a sand timer attached.

Action-packed Scribble Scramble is a frantic team game for 4-8 players, where they have to guess each other’s doodles before they disappear. Players must pick a Scribble card, start drawing on the board, and then race against the moving Scribble Scramble unit to decipher their team’s doodle before it vanishes. The quicker a team guesses the more points they get.

The family board game designed to test a player’s creative streak, Doodle Delirium is an adventure against time with creative challenges to complete on the Doodle Delirium board. These include Paper Mashups, Model Madness, Scribble Riddles and Doodle Dummies.

New in the Thunderbirds Are Go range is the 3D Effect Puzzle.

Kids can piece together this 200-piece action-packed puzzle to see it come to life with the 3D glasses. Fans can also get their hands on the International Rescue Puzzle, which is based on the Ring of Fire TV episode.

Tactic Games 01483 332 070 | www.tactic.net

Tactic Games’ Crazy Café is a fast-paced table top action game for children and the family. The object of the game is to pull the table cloth from the table three times without any dishes falling off the table.

The bottom of the game box doubles up as the table. The youngest player goes first and play moves in a clockwise direction. The player must spin the spinner and will then carry out the action indicated. The spinner tells the player whether to put one or two objects on the table cloth or to stack one or two objects on top of another. Each player gets three turns. If the player pulls the table cloth three times without the items falling off they win the game or the round.

The game’s contents include a table, spinner, tablecloth, jug, saucer, teacup, vase, drinking glass, bowl, salt and pepper shaker, butter dish, large plate, spoon, fork and a knife.

The game will be TV advertised during the fourth quarter on Nick Jr, Cartoonito and Disney Junior.

Further to this, Tactic Games has expanded its range of TY Beanie Boo games to 22 SKUs. The range includes a Beanie Boo Go Fish card game and Beanie Boo playing cards which are boxed in a counter top display unit. The Beanie Boo Go Fish game and playing cards are both pocket money and stocking filler purchases.

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The classic game show returns!

“CAN I HAVE A ‘P’ PLEASE BOB?”

Based on the timeless TV game show, use knowledge and strategy to make your way across the classic Blockbusters grid.

Subject to licensor approval

Part of our TV quiz show range View the complete range on our website! @GingerFox_UK

www.gingerfox.co.uk

GingerFoxLtd

+ (0)1242 241765

Based on the Thames Television programme BLOCKBUSTERS. Licensed by FremantleMedia Limited.

Games & Puzzles

Rummikub

01480 414 361 | www.johnadams.co.uk Iconic family game Rummikub has been played by adults and children for over 50 years. In addition to classic, travel and premium versions, John Adams Leisure also offers new variations of the range, including Junior, Xpress and Word.

Classic Rummikub is the original family game. In order to win, players must place all of their numbered tiles onto the table. Players must lay down sets of tiles on the table; these can be made up of either three or four tiles of the same number, but each in a different colour, or they can be made up of three or more consecutive numbers of the same colour. The game comes complete with 106 engraved plastic tiles, four sturdy two-tier racks, eight rack holders and instructions.

Rummikub Junior has a simple format where the aim of the game is to collect as many stars as possible. Stars are awarded when players make a run of tiles or add to an existing run. Rummikub Junior comes complete with 40 tiles plus a set of star tiles.

Rummikub Xpress is designed for two players, using dice instead of tiles. The object of the game is to play all of one’s dice to have the most points at the end of six games. During each round, players put as many of their dice as they wish into the shaker and roll them onto the table. If a player has a set, they must place it on the table. Players can also manipulate sets already on the table by adding dice to create new sets for more points.

The object of Rummikub Word is to form the longest possible words. Players must pick up tiles from the draw pool until they are able to place a word onto the table of at least six letters. Players can then manipulate any of the words on the table, as long as they use at least one letter from their rack.

The Rummikub range will be supported by TV and PR campaigns.

GP Flair 0208 643 0320 | www.flairplc.co.uk

Milly & Flynn 01242 241 765 |

GP Flair has a portfolio of competitive games, including classic action games for all the family and a traditional range of wooden games featuring Thomas & Friends.

The Thomas & Friends collection includes both new and familiar play concepts that will enhance learning while playing. Children can choose from a Sodor version of noughts and crosses with Tic-Tac-Toe, while a Wooden Clock Game comes complete with 12 double sided self-correcting puzzle pieces, two jumbo time-dice and a clock stand.

For enhancing a child’s colour matching skills and fine motor control, there’s the Colour Stack Game.

Children can roll the dice to choose a colour and can then remove a matching block from the stack.

Squeaky Chicken is the family game of chance where players must take as many eggs as they can from the coop without waking up the chicken. Every time an egg is taken the chicken will give a little squawk, but if one too many is taken the chicken will wake up and scream.

www.millyandflynn.com This year Milly & Flynn is celebrating Beatrix Potter’s 150th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the company has recreated a vintage board game, originally designed by Beatrix Potter in 1917.

With designs based on Beatrix Potter’s original illustrations and text, Peter Rabbit’s Race Game is presented in a linen-effect box with a large 50 x 76cm game board, four pewter figurines and a vintage-style dice and shaker.

To complement this, Milly & Flynn will also be releasing Peter Rabbit’s Race & Chase Game, a double-sided board game created to sit alongside its existing Beatrix Potter jigsaw puzzle and matching pair’s game.

Ginger Fox 01242 241 765 | www.gingerfox.co.uk Blockbusters, the classic TV game show, is back and Ginger Fox is releasing a new board game version of the timeless show. Players must use their knowledge and strategy to answer the questions to try and cross the classic Blockbusters grid. The winner of the first three rounds goes on to play the infamous Gold Run to be crowned ultimate Blockbuster champion. The game includes question cards, playing boards, hexagonal counters, rules and a sand timer.

The game is a strong addition to Ginger Fox’s already successful licensed TV game show range which includes family favourites such as Catchphrase, The Chase, Deal or No Deal, Eggheads and The Million Pound Drop.

Toy World 114

Allegedly

The British Home Enhancement Trade Association (which has the snappy acronym BHETA) recently advertised a ‘meet the buyer’ day with Wilko (as they seem to prefer to be called these days, rather than the perfectly reasonable Wilkinson), for which they were proposing to charge their members £95 for the possibility of meeting a buyer or assistant buyer (they couldn’t actually specify which would turn up on the day). There was no guarantee of a meeting, as if too many people were to apply, the choice of who got to see them was apparently going to be decided by lottery. It’s difficult to know where to start when faced with a story like this: when did Wilko’s buyers decide they can’t meet with suppliers without a third party needing to arrange it? Isn’t it part of a buyer’s remit to see or assess potential new suppliers as a matter of course? And how do you justify having to pay an unrelated third party to meet with a buyer? Admittedly, it’s a trivial amount of money, but it’s the principle that seems rather strange. Perhaps they’re planning a similar approach for toys at some stage in the future?

One supplier – who should probably remain nameless – admitted he would gladly pay to get in front of a Wilko buyer, saying “I’m not sure you realise how difficult it is to get a meeting with Wilko’s toy buyer. Mind you, if you have been in the stores recently, it doesn’t look like many have….”

Rumbles of discontent between landlords and their retail tenants are growing stronger by the day. Last month alone, both BHS and Beales filed CVAs: perhaps most worryingly, the BHS CVA suggested that the retailer would be unable to trade in its current form beyond 25 March, when its next rent payments were due. It warned its landlords that they stand to lose over £500m if they don’t accept the plan; if they do agree to go along with it, some landlords will receive a mere 6.15p in the pound (which is still a lot better than the 0.005p in the pound they’ll get if BHS goes into liquidation though). Meanwhile Beales is said to be seeking a reduction of around 30% in the leases of 14 of its stores, with the Chairman admitting that “a minority of our stores lose money because leases agreed some years ago are no longer sustainable due to changes in the economy and local conditions.” This seems to be the crux of the matter: leases signed when high street retail business was more profitable and under less threat from online traders are - in certain cases - no longer viable. It certainly isn’t a black and white situation: there is something a little disconcerting about someone signing a contract, then backing out and threatening to go bust if the other party doesn’t agree to waive 90% of the money owed to it. Equally, it’s easy to see why retailers feel aggrieved at the leases, which are very possibly onerous…

Ongoing concerns within the UK toy community over the exchange rate situation are highlighted in this month’s news section.

In fairness, the fact that freight costs are at an all-time low is helping to mitigate the problem in the short term, and it seems that companies are hoping the fall in sterling might be reversed after the Euro vote in the summer (providing it goes the right way, naturally...). However, if the pound does continue to fall sharply, two potential outcomes seem likely: one is that buyers will probably look to buy a greater percentage of lines on an FOB basis, and the other is that suppliers will almost certainly have no choice but to raise prices. The latter option is likely to be something of a last resort, but further downward pressure on the pound may leave suppliers with little choice….

Disney’s latest movie has run into a few problems in the naming department.

Depending on where you watch the film, it could be called Zootopia (USA), Zootropolis (UK and most of the EU) or even Zoomania (Germany). A spokesman for Disney claimed that they decided to change the name of the movie in the UK to – and I quote – “allow the film to have a unique title that works for UK audiences.” If that sounds an unlikely or implausible explanation, it might be worth bearing in mind that there is a zoo in Denmark which apparently plans to open a new area in 2019 called - you guessed it - Zootopia. Far be it for us to suggest that perhaps the aforementioned zoo had already trademarked the name or merchandising rights. But whatever the real reason, having so many different names for single movie must have presented a challenge to licensees, especially those partners who signed multiterritory deals….

The news that MGA has been given the go ahead to build a brand new office and housing campus in California is an intriguing proposition. The company’s 280 local employees will apparently be encouraged to live in the new housing, which according to Jason Larian is apparently modelled on work / live projects in China. Will the concept travel from Asia to California? Given the choice, would you choose to live in such close proximity not only to your work place, but in particular to the people you spend every day with at the office? Nothing personal against my current team - who are all genuinely lovely people – but based on some past experiences, I would have my doubts (and I’m putting that as diplomatically as I possibly can). After all, you can choose your friends, but you can’t always choose your work colleagues.

ISL_ad_ToysWorld_240x315_HR.pdf

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05/02/2016

10:26

Wake up to the future of retail logistics

IMPORTSERVICES.CO.UK

TW_Teletubbies_V5.pdf

1

18/03/2016

13:07

New Teletubbies Range!

Water-filled Jumbo Pat Mat

Night Light

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Launches July ‘16 Pre-or your stder ock for TV laun ch RS

250+ TV

Radio Co ntr Inflatabl ol es

Heavyweight TV marketing campaign for the UK launch, airing on major kids TV channels across the peak selling period.

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