Toyworld jul 2015

July 2015 volume 4 issue 10

July 2015 volume 4 issue 10

The business magazine with a passion for toys

Introducing the NEW The BEST EVER Tablet From LeapFrog

The business magazine with a passion for toys

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The Team...

CONTENTS July 2015 volume 4 issue 10

John Baulch

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

Emily Ansell Elfer

28 Toy World tours the Nickelodeon Store

30 Brand Profile: Playmobil

Deputy Editor emily@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 407

Daniel Rich

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

News

Opinion

Features

05 From the Publisher

20 Las Vegas Licensing Expo

27 Brand Profile: Character

21 Interview: The Entertainer’s

28 Toy World tours the

16 Marketing World

22 NPD Column

30 Brand Profile: Playmobil

18 Licensing world

24 Talking Shop

32 Construction Toys

26 Viewpoint

48 Wheeled Toys

56 Touching Base

60 Role Play and Dress-up

82 Allegedly

70 Educational Toys

06 News 14 Industry Moves

Stuart Grant

Mark Austin

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

Review

Options

Nickelodeon Store

Contributors David Ripley | Jim Hawker | Mark Buschhaus | Stephen Barnes | The NPD Group

Graeme Thomas

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

32 Construction Toys

60 Role Play and Dress-up

Anita Baulch

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

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I from the publisher

John Baulch - @Baulchtweet

opened this column two months ago by suggesting that 2015 was shaping up into the kind of year beloved of journalists, such was the volume of interesting news stories to report and analyse. Thankfully that scenario continues, as you will see from this month’s packed edition.

Amongst a welter of acquisitions, new appointments, a flurry of licensing deals and some intriguing retail developments, last month’s news agenda was dominated by two major stories: the sale of H Grossman Ltd and the continuing saga of the 2016 Toy Fair.

The press release which announced the sale of Grossman to former HTi directors Mark Walls and Daniel Mclaughlin described the move as “a shock”, and indeed I’m sure it came as a major surprise to many in the toy trade.

Personally I think it’s a great development for both sides. Succession planning is one of the hardest challenges for any business owner: you certainly want to feel you’re leaving your company in good hands, as I’m sure it remains your ‘baby’ for ever. I believe Martin has found the right team to take the business forward, and Mark and Daniel – and indeed anyone else who may join them in the future – have secured a great vehicle to build on. Even better, Martin and right hand lady Caroline Brotherton remain involved for the foreseeable future, which I’m sure will make the transition that much smoother. Good luck to all concerned – we’ll bring you more details about the plans for the company in a future issue of Toy World.

In other news, both Hasbro and MGA announced that they would not be exhibiting at the 2016 Toy Fair as a result of the proximity of dates between the show and the Nuremberg Toy Fair. The truth is that some fallout was sadly inevitable: however, I think it’s important to keep things in perspective.

I am sure the companies which have pulled out have done so with a heavy heart, after much consideration about how to overcome the logistics of two overlapping events.

Clearly achieving that will be harder for some companies than others. Those companies which haven’t been able to find a way around the date clash will hopefully be back the following year. It’s never nice for a show to lose big names, even temporarily, but there will be

other opportunities for retailers to see those companies’ ranges – whether in Nuremberg or at previews – and there will still be well over 200 exhibitors to see at Toy Fair in three days, which is a monumental task in anyone’s book. Given the time pressure that all visitors are under, it will free up gaps to allow buyers to visit another half a dozen or so companies, ones which may otherwise have dropped off the bottom of the list.

Personally, I’ve never made any secret of my belief in the value of Toy Fair, and I’m sure that it will overcome the challenges it faces next year. On the positive side, 86% of the show is already sold, with many new applicants said to be waiting to fill in the gaps that have become available. Of course, Nuremberg is also a hugely valuable show in its own right, and retailers will have to decide whether they are in a position to visit both shows, given that this could result in them spending anything up to nine consecutive days away from their store or office.

Meanwhile, the industry has been rallying round to support Toy Fair. Midco Toys’ Dave Middleton even started an online petition calling on retailers to support Toy Fair, suggesting that independent retailers need to – in his own inimitable words – “stand together to keep the London Toy Fair alive.”

Dave has never been afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve when he believes passionately in something, and some of the comments alongside the petition show just how strongly many other toy retailers feel about the show as well. One thing is for sure, it’s certainly a debate which will continue to rage over the coming months, and we’ll continue to bring you the latest developments and opinions from all sides of the equation.

This month’s edition also includes my report from the Las Vegas Licensing Expo and an exclusive interview with The Entertainer’s Stuart Grant on why he believes the show is such a valuable event for him and his team; a review of the brand new flagship Nickelodeon store which opened in Leicester Square last month; in-depth features on a variety of key toy categories including Construction, Educational, Pre-School Wheeled Toys and Role Play & Dress-Up, and a round-up of all the latest news, moves and gossip. That should hopefully give you plenty to get your teeth into for the time being.

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Latest developments with Toy Fair 2016 Show 86% sold out but two key exhibitors have announced they will not be attending.

The BTHA has announced that Toy Fair 2016 is 86% sold out. However, Hasbro and MGA will not be exhibiting at the show due to the proximity of the dates to Nuremberg Toy Fair.

Majen Immink, head of Toy Fair operations and sales, commented: “In a year of change, some exhibitors have found the logistics more difficult to organise than others, and that was to be expected with two shows so close together. Having said that, we have had an incredibly positive response from the vast majority of exhibitors and have been pleasantly surprised by the number of new companies wishing to join the show – the upside of the date difficulties is that we actually have space for them this year.”

A spokesperson from Hasbro UK told Toy World: “Hasbro will not be exhibiting at the next London Toy Fair due to the complexity of the global toy show calendar in 2016. As part of a global organisation we have had to make this tough choice to ensure we utilise our people and resources as efficiently as possible. We nevertheless continue to maximise support for Hasbro’s sales in the UK and remain committed to the toy industry. We would like to wish London Toy Fair 2016 every success.”

Andrew Laughton, MGA’s managing director, added: “Due to the clashes in the industry calendar, MGA won’t be exhibiting at Toy Fair in 2016. Supporting two events at the same time presented us with a logistical nightmare and, rather than spread ourselves too thinly, we decided to focus our team and resources into one event. We will, of course, still be attending the other UK shows and events as well as reviewing 2017 Toy Fair.”

Toy World has also learnt that a petition has been launched by Dave Middleton of Midco Toys urging independent retailers to support Toy Fair 2016.

Dave hopes that the petition will show the toy industry how important Toy Fair is to independent retailers and prevent other suppliers from pulling out of next year’s show.

He explained: “The UK independents need stand together to keep the London Toy Fair alive. We need to get something going here, united as one group, to stress the importance of the show.”

The petition, dubbed Operation Keep Toy Fair Alive, had 109 signatures at the time of going to press.

Dave will be presenting the petition to the BTHA as well as any companies that decide against attending the show.

Market & Distribute Quality Brands

Hasbro acquires rights for Pie Face

Hasbro has acquired the rights to manufacture and distribute the Pie Face game. Under licence from Rocket Games, the company will launch the game in multiple markets including the UK and US. this autumn.

The excitement around Pie Face heightened earlier this year after a video of a grandfather and grandson playing the game went viral.

Jonathan Berkowitz, VP of global marketing and strategy for Hasbro Gaming, commented: “After the video of a family playing Pie Face received an overwhelming response worldwide, many of our fans were asking us for the game in the UK. We’re always listening to our fans to deliver the most exciting and fun gaming experiences and, thanks to the team at Rocket Games, we are thrilled to bring the game to the UK this year.”

The Pie Face game includes a throwing arm, chin rest, splash guard mask, spinner and sponge. It will be available in the UK in October.

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Airfix launches KitStarter platform

Martin and Elinor Grossman sell the business

Toy industry veteran Martin Grossman has announced the sale of the UK and Hong Kong business to two well respected toy industry names.

Mark Walls and Daniel McLoughlin have completed a majority share purchase to acquire ownership of H. Grossman and H. Grossman (HK).

Mark and Daniel have great passion and drive having worked in the toy industry for a combined period of 35 years, both formally of HTI, where Mark held the position of UK managing and sales director along with Daniel in Hong Kong, who was responsible for product development, sales and sourcing for over 10 years. Daniel will continue this pivotal role.

Managing director, Mark Walls, commented: “We are delighted and extremely proud to have the opportunity to acquire HGL. The business has seen 70 years of success and has developed a reputation within the industry for delivering craze lines and award winning products. There is great scope to expand the business with its core brands and licensed portfolio to its growing UK and International customer base. The UK and HK teams have played a key part in the success of the company and it is imperative that the team remains at the forefront of the business for the future” Martin Grossman commented: “I’m absolutely delighted for Mark and Dan, this is a wonderful opportunity for them as both Grossman businesses are thriving with unlimited potential. I’d like to thank my wonderful wife Elinor for standing by me for the last 45 years in the toy trade and for being my backbone.

A special thank you goes to my co-director and friend Caroline Brotherton who has put her heart and soul into the business over the last two decades.”

Martin will remain a shareholder and director and both he and Caroline will work within the business going forward, Mark Walls added: “Both myself and Daniel are very much looking forward to working with Martin, Caroline and the team and build on the hard work and success of H. Grossman.”

Toy Trust Big Thames Challenge raises £205,000

Last Saturday’s Big Thames Challenge smashed all records and raised £205,000 for a number of children’s charities supported by the Toy Trust.

Thanks to the event, more than 120 special needs children across the UK will shortly be presented with a life-transforming customfit trike or wheelchair via three nominated UK based charities; Action For Kids, Cyclists Fighting Cancer and Handicapped Children’s Action Group.

A total of 290 people in 26 teams from all sectors of the UK toy industry ran, walked and cycled a total of 14,321 miles to achieve the record-breaking funds.

“The Toy Trust Big Thames Challenge has become a fantastic annual event that unites people from all corners of the toy industry to generate amazing amounts of money for the 50-plus small children’s charities that we support across the year,” said Toy Trust chair Foye Pascoe. “It is wonderful to see toymakers, licensors and retailers all pulling together for such a brilliant cause. Thank you to everyone who supported the event; either participating, stewarding or donating to the overall result – your contribution highlights what a big-hearted, philanthropic industry we are.”

Such is the demand for vintage Airfix scale model kits, Hornby is trialling a revival of classic models with its KitStarter scheme.

Utilising new technology via its website, Hornby is launching the KitStarter platform where consumers can choose which models the company redevelops and they can commit to pre-ordering the model. When support has built to a certain number to make it viable, Hornby will pledge to manufacture the model kit.

Successful KitStarter projects will be manufactured in a facility in the United Kingdom and despatched in a KitStarter box containing the plastic components needed for the consumer to complete the model.

Richard Ames, Hornby chief executive officer, said: “This is a really exciting initiative for Airfix. We have a very large back-catalogue of model kits, many that are still remembered fondly by our consumers. We get lots of feedback about which models people would like us to re-introduce. Our KitStarter crowd-funding platform will enable Hornby to interact much more closely with our consumers. This will help us gauge demand accurately and respond quickly to requests. Then we can prioritise which models we re-introduce.”

KitStarter is exclusively available via www.Airfix.com where customers can vote for which retro design is re-launched as a limited edition.

Alex Brands acquires Juratoys

Juratoys and its subsidiary brands Janod and Kaloo are to be incorporated into the Alex Brands family.

The acquisition marks the first major acquisition by Propel Equity Partners on behalf of Alex Brands in Europe. With offices in France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Hong Kong and China, Juratoys adds to the company’s global footprint and offers significant European distribution capabilities for the entire Alex Brands platform.

Michael Cornell, chairman and CEO of Propel Equity Partners, said: “Our focus is on quality brands and businesses with the opportunity for global expansion, and that is why the acquisition of Juratoys is truly a watershed acquisition for Alex Brands. Janod and Kaloo are two of the most respected brands in the toy industry for their attention to quality and design. We are honoured to be welcoming them into our family of brands.”

Kiddimoto re-launches Evel Knievel inspired bike

The re-launch coincides with the 40th anniversary of the dare devil’s attempt to jump over 13 London buses in Wembley Stadium.

Evel’s white jumpsuit with stars on blue stripes inspired the design of the child-sized bike.

The bike is part of the Kiddimoto Heroes range which celebrates champions of the past 50 years and includes replicas styled on the greats of the superbike racing world.

The balance bikes are an ideal starting point for learning to ride a bike, teaching children to balance and steer. With not a stabiliser in sight children will naturally develop their co-ordination skills. The Kiddimoto range also includes helmets and gloves with matching designs.

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Small World Toys appoints Cuckoo as UK distributor

newsanalysis Posh plush

Small World Toys USA, a subsidiary of the Orda-Creative Group, has announced that is has appointed Cuckoo as its official UK distributor.

Michael Sacks, of the Orda-Creative Group, said: “The appointment is the perfect complement to our existing branded toys and game business and strengthens our position. We see significant synergies and opportunities to continue building on the solid foundation of the Cuckoo platform and will be investing in the development, expansion and marketing of the brand to enhance and elevate the concept and advance further into new markets within the UK. The Cuckoo distribution platform will become an invaluable asset for Small World Toys.”

Tony Eves, MD of Cuckoo, added: “We are excited to join the Small World Toys Orda-Creative Group. We have been impressed with the help, support and professionalism given to us in selecting our first collection. Cuckoo is at a stage where its operations are strong and the time has come to join forces with a strategic partner from within the industry to take it to the next level.”

Lauren Hayward, group brand manager at Posh Paws, speaks to Emily Ansell Elfer about Tsum Tsums, Inside Out and the year so far.

How has 2015 been for you so far?

The first quarter has been extremely positive for us. We’re really pleased to have expanded our distribution into new retailers this year and our business is continuing to grow at a steady pace.

We’re extremely excited about what’s to come, we have some key licences launching in retail over the next few months. New launches include: Tsum Tsum Plush, Inside Out soft toys and Minions movie backpacks this summer.

Then towards the back end of the year we will be launching The Good Dinosaur and Star Wars Episode 7 plush into retail. We think the best is yet to come.

Smyths Toys opens new Watford store

What attracted Posh Paws to Tsum Tsums?

They are totally adorable and there is a real fan base out there. It may be surprising but the toys really do appeal to a wide audience, I have friends that have played the game and are now after the plush toys. And kids, tweens and adults aren’t just after their favourite Disney characters, they want to collect them all. I must say I have played the app and it is hugely addictive.

Tell us a bit about the Tsum Tsums brand and Posh Paws’ plans for it…

The app originally launched in Japan and was hugely successful with one million downloads in four days, needless to say when they launched the Tsum Tsum plush to the market the sales went through the roof. The app then launched in the UK this year and we’re already seeing a huge demand for the product. We are launching Series 1, 2 and 3 over the coming months which includes characters from Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Aristocats and much more. We will continue to launch new series throughout 2015 and into 2016 and, whilst I cannot reveal the characters, there are some iconic Disney characters from the big screen being released later this year.

Can you give us an insight into your Inside Out offering?

We’re are offering a great assortment of Inside Out plush, we have an 8” assortment of some of the key characters from the film including Anger, Sadness, Joy and Disgust. We’ve also got a 10” gift boxed soft toy and for those after something cuddlier we have a 20” Anger, Joy and Sadness available. We are of course biased but the plush product really does look fantastic and we expect that demand for product will grow over the coming months as we prepare for the film release in July. The film is really one for all the family and I think that each family member will relate to a different emotion.

Do you have any more launches planned for 2015?

It is all under wraps at the moment, but we will be launching Good Dinosaur plush in November and a limited range of Star Wars Episode 7 in December. We can’t say too much right now but it is very exciting and we look forward to releasing more information soon.

Why should toy buyers partner with Posh Paws?

We’re best known for delivering high quality plush product to the market and we’re excited to be able to say that we’re the No.1 Traditional Plush supplier in the UK (*NPD UK Toy Market Trend Full Year 2014 Source: Retail Tracking Service). We manufacture and supply some of the hottest licensed plush toys in the market and work with leading brands including; Disney, Universal, DreamWorks and CBeebies. Over the last few years we have also actively pursued bag licences and have quickly established ourselves in this market.

We now develop a wide range of bags, backpacks and travel cases for big name brands including Minions, Care Bears, Thunderbirds, Furchester Hotel and a selection of Disney properties. We also have lots of exciting new licences and product development for 2016 and want to partner with toy buyers to continue to mutually grow our businesses.

Toy World 10

The latest branch is one of 10 new outlets which the retailer is planning to open in 2015.

The store is situated on the Waterfields Retail Park, directly adjacent to a branch of Argos and in close proximity to a major Tesco superstore. The premises, which were previously occupied by Borders, features space over two levels: indeed, the mezzanine level is a feature rarely seen in Smyths outlets.

A major leaflet drop and local advertising campaign succeeded in attracting large crowds to the opening. Customers were greeted by character appearances by Bumblebee the Transformer, Barbie and Fireman Sam, while the Transformers monster truck was another popular draw for visitors.

Toy World caught up with Tony Smyth at the opening, who commented: “The new Watford store could become one of our best shops. It’s in a great location, within a strong catchment area: Watford has become a hugely popular family shopping destination.”

Trends UK to distribute Colorific’s FairyLane Sparkletopia

Trends UK has partnered with Colorific to distribute the new FairyLane Sparkletopia craft kits in the UK. FairyLane Sparkletopia allows children to make sticker creations with no mess. The range will be available from spring 2016.

Lindsay Hardy, Trends UK marketing director, commented: “We are very excited to be introducing FairyLane Sparkletopia to the UK and Ireland. The brand has recently launched in Australia and has been extremely well received. We believe this new creative range will be a fantastic addition to our arts and crafts portfolio. We are looking forward to showing our customers how much fun and easy it is to make the wonderful sparkling creations.”

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Schleich ramps up support for retailers

Schleich has unveiled two new retail activation plans to support its retailers across the UK and Ireland.

The Great Schleich Dinosaur Hunt takes place in stores throughout June and July. Retailers have been provided with posters, colouring sheets and trail cards for children to complete the hunt. Children who participate will have the opportunity to win an in store prize, whilst all entrants will also be in the running for a national prize.

With dinosaurs high on the agenda this summer, this dinosaur activity further supports retailers for the Schleich dinosaur collection during an important retail period.

Laura Bull, marketing manager, Schleich, said: “We’re really looking forward to seeing this campaign roll out across many of our retailers. The support will heighten awareness for the dinosaur collection as part of our year-round marketing support for the brand. We’re also keen to remind parents why they love Schleich by bringing a little a bit of fun to their shopping experience.”

Selected retailers will also be offering a loyalty card for customers throughout the summer. Running from 1st July to 31st August, every customer that spends £5 on Schleich products will receive a sticker and, once six stickers have been collected, the customer can choose a free item.

Revamped Lego area opens at Harrods

At 170 square metres, the new space, based within the Toy Kingdom department, is three times larger than the previous Lego area.

Guests are able to shop a broader range from the Lego collection including all key themes whilst categories have their own specific space. The space also features 3D models including City, Friends, Star Wars, Ninjago and Creator, all adding to the overall customer experience and inspiring creativity amongst fans.

The focal point is a scale model of Harrods made entirely from Lego bricks which is displayed on the shop floor. The model is made from 72,000 bricks and took Duncan Titmarsh, the UK’s Only Lego certified professional, and his colleague, Kevin Cooper, six months to complete.

Craig Mair, national account director, Lego UK, said: “Lego is delighted with the new space, which offers Harrods’ audience a much improved shopping experience whilst better reflecting the globally iconic status of both brands. The floor is a fabulous showcase for the wonderful world of Lego and the larger area allows us to inspire creativity by featuring a broader range of products from our ever-growing portfolio.”

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newsanalysis Leaps and bounds LeapFrog’s chief international officer Antony Hicks talks to Emily Ansell Elfer about his first year at the company.

You’ve been with LeapFrog for just under a year, how has that time been for you?

It’s certainly been very fast paced. It’s interesting learning a new industry and, even though I know branded goods very well, the toy business has been very different. It’s really fun and challenging for me to go outside my prior FMCG based experience.

What attracted you to LeapFrog and the toy industry?

I was living in Vietnam at the time and I got a call about the opportunity at LeapFrog. They started to explain to me what LeapFrog was but I stopped them as I have young kids and we already had many LeapFrog products – they were all over our home. I was really intrigued by the company and I liked what LeapFrog stood for – helping children around the world fulfil their potential. As I considered the opportunity further I realised that not only did I like the idea of this business and feel passionate about it, but I looked at the actual size of the company and it seemed like there was a big opportunity to grow the brand and bring it to more children. So, it was LeapFrog that interested me as much as the toy business. That said, the toy business is really fun and it’s great to wake up in the morning and love what you do.

How has 2015 been for the company so far?

We’re celebrating our 20th anniversary, so we’ve really been focusing on a couple of key things. The company was born out of Michael Wood’s desire to help his son learn to read, so we’ve been putting a lot of work into our reading programmes this year – such as the 30 Ways in 30 Days Reading Guide. LeapPad was number one last year and continues to do well for us as it stabilises after its very big peak. We’re also focusing on the learning library with new launches through the year, we’ve already launched Paw Patrol and Frozen.

What launches are planned for 2015?

LeapPad Platinum and Imagicards are our big news right now. Platinum is by far the best tablet for kids that we’ve developed. Imagicards bring flash cards to life with augmented reality – it’s fantastic because kids have always loved collectible cards and now they can see them magically come to life on their tablets.

Why should toy buyers partner with LeapFrog?

We’ve got an incredibly strong heritage of really blending education and entertainment together. I think that we’re one of the most innovative toy companies that I’ve seen over the past 20 years. We invest in our products year round and have a great line-up for both this year and for next year too.

We’re pretty unique, in our blend of education and entertainment, and we involve our retailers with our innovations as we develop them.

Do you have a personal favourite LeapFrog product?

I’m going to be naughty and pick two. My favourite for what it does is the LeapReader. It’s fantastic because, until a child can read, it’s difficult to progress learning in other areas. I also love the My Pal Scout and My Pal Violet plush toys that you can personalise – when you put one in the hands of a small child and they start interacting with them it’s pretty magical to see.

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Toy World 12

approval

The Irish Fairy Door Company marked its arrival in the UK with a special launch event in London. Toy World joined bloggers and toy industry experts as well as celebrity mums Imogen Thomas, Laura Hamilton and Emma Stephens at the event which was held in The Glade woodlandthemed bar at Sketch.

Guests enjoyed champagne and afternoon tea while learning more about the company from co-founder Niamh Sherwin-Barry.

Niamh explained to those attending: “We’ve already re-homed 150,000 fairies in just 18 months and we need your help to find homes for even more of our winged friends.”

Lesley Singleton of Playtime PR, who organised the event, commented: “We’re so pleased with the success of the launch event. We attracted a healthy mix of national publications, the all-important trade media, a number of high profile lifestyle and parenting bloggers who boast a quality online presence, plus a handful of VIP mums who absolutely loved the product.

“The event was a key part of our plans to help The Irish Fairy Door Company make a big splash in the UK and was also the most perfect platform to unveil the new premium packaging, which generated a huge amount of positive feedback.”

The Irish Fairy Door Company offers fairy doors in a variety of colours as well as accessories such as doormats, washing lines and fairy clothing.

Love Monopoly?

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The Irish Fairy Door Company launches in the UK

Hornby makes strong progress during transformational year

Hornby has announced its results for the year ending 31st March 2015.

Highlights for the company included revenue of £58.1 million up 13% (2014: £51.6 million), an underlying profit before tax £1.6 million (2014: £1.1 million loss), a reported loss after tax £0.1 million (2014: £4.4 million loss), a new head office in Discovery Park, Sandwich, new e-commerce team in Shoreditch, London, and a new enterprise resource planning system to improve sales, logistics and data capabilities.

More great Shuffle titles coming soon!

newsinbrief Argos has opened its first digital stores at Sainsbury’s supermarkets, offering more than 20,000 products. The micro-outlets include touchscreen tablets and items are available for instant purchase or collection.

Clementoni has appointed Amethyst Group to handle the logistics function of its full retail range throughout the UK.

Yuan Yafei, of Sanpower, is understood to be in talks to buy Hamleys from its French owner, Groupe Ludendo. The Chinese billionaire purchased House of Fraser a year ago and plans to open the first three House of Fraser stores in China.

Paul Mitchell, formally merchandise manager of Toys R Us UK, has joined Click Distribution as a consultant. He will work closely with the senior management to source new lines and maintain close relationships with new suppliers.

© 2015 Disney © 2015 Disney/Pixar. © 2015 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Hasbro.

MONOPOLY © 1935, 2015 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Hasbro.

Sales@Cartamundi.co.uk Ph: +44 1268 511 522 www.shuffle.cards

industry moves KD UK has appointed Paul Dearlove as national account manager. Paul has a wealth of experience in the toy and licensing industry, having spent over 15 years working at companies including Crayola, Blueprint Collections and M.Y. Sports.

Tomy has recruited a new head of marketing EMEA, senior vice president and UK sales director. Former Hasbro European marketing director Mark Foster has taken up the role of head of marketing EMEA. The newly created role of senior vice president of EMEA Operations will be filled by Hans-Jurgen Koot. He has over 20 years’ experience in retail, having been country operations director for L’Oreal in the UK, Belgium, Germany and Austria. Fred Wolff is the new UK sales director. He has European consumer sales and marketing experience with organisations such as Proctor & Gamble, Reckitt Benkiser and Phillips. His focus will be on creating a more strategic relationship with Tomy’s UK retailers.

Rubie’s Masquerade has announced several changes in key roles to support its UK business and to strengthen its position across EMEA with a number of appointments. Tracey Devine has been appointed as head of marketing EMEA. She will be responsible for coordinating and building marketing plans across the Rubie’s group on a European level. David Wootliff has been promoted to commercial director for the UK. He will be responsible for all aspects of day to day commercial activities such as sales, marketing, product development, systems and finance. Neil Ash has been appointed as head of apparel operations. He will be responsible for coordinating and focusing the company’s activities as they relate to Rubie’s apparel accounts. Jaimi Weston has been promoted to head of production and planning, EMEA, and will oversee the production planning, forecasting and ordering of Rubie’s mainstream product lines across EMEA. DKL Marketing has announced the appointment of new members to its sales and customer service teams.

The sales team has been bolstered by the addition of Kate Redley and Vicki Robertson. Kate joins as stock planner, managing stock for all seven ranges distributed by DKL, whilst Vicki joins as sales executive and is responsible for managing current customers as well as developing new business across DKL’s ranges. DKL has been further enhanced by the appointment of Amy Chapman who will work within the customer service team.

Emily Nicholls joins Golden Bear as assistant product manager working on its pre-school brands. She has gained experience across the company and has been involved with the toy industry for many years. She will be working within the product development team.

Jumbo has appointed Stewart Middleton as its new managing director. Stewart’s extensive experience includes sales roles at Mookie Toys from 2006 and latterly TP Toys, following Mookie’s acquisition of TP Toys in 2012 where he held a central role.

In February 2015 he moved to Plum Products where he was sales director.

K-Play has announced that Stuart Ireland will be its new sales agent covering the Scottish mainland with immediate effect. Stuart has considerable experience in the toy industry.

Obituary: Michael Seary

Michael Seary passed away on Saturday 6th June after a short illness.

Michael joined the family firm W J Brown Toys in 1950 where he stayed until his retirement in 1995. In retirement, he still kept a keen interest in the business, which is known today as Peterkin. W J Brown Toys, known as Browns, was formed by Michael’s father, Walter Jack Seary, in the mid-1940s. The company became a large toy wholesaler covering the whole of the UK and had a strong connection with independent toy retailers. Michael was responsible for changing Browns from a wholesaler to a distributer and importer.

The company made several acquisitions, one of which was Peterkin. Browns changed its name to Peterkin in the 1990s and is still going strong today with offices in Leicester and Hong Kong.In the 1960s and 70s, Michael was the chairman of the Toy Wholesaler Association, sharing the role with Paul Caspari from Robenau. Michael was a keen rugby player and enjoyed playing golf. He loved flying and got his private pilot’s licence and bought his own Beagle Pup aeroplane.

Michael made many lasting friendships in the toy trade and was known as a trusting and honourable gentleman. He leaves behind his wife Anne, his sons Nigel, Richard and Peter and his six grandchildren.

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22/06/2015 16:43

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

Early success for Sylvanian Families 30th anniversary Epoch is celebrating the success of its brand activity for the anniversary, as it prepares for two major consumer events taking place in July and August.

During the Easter school holidays, the Sylvanian Families characters hit the road, visiting five Hamleys stores for a day of live performances in Dublin, Manchester, Cardiff, Glasgow and London. Epoch supported the tour with pre-publicity, social media, in-store competitions and product giveaways.

Sylvanian Families is now planning to hold two nature-themed, family picnics taking place in the grounds of National Trust properties.

To raise awareness of the brand’s new seaside range, there will be displays where children can play with new products as well as vintage displays. There will also be mascots doing stage performances, face painters and the chance to take part in nature-themed activities.

Sally Carnall, marketing manager, Epoch, commented: “We are pleased our anniversary activity so far is connecting with existing fans whilst also reaching a whole new generation of consumers, particularly with the nature-themed initiatives. Tickets for the summer picnics we are holding for fans at National Trust properties in the north and south are all sold out now, so we’re all set for the next exciting phase.”

Lego Friends tour to introduce Pop Stars range Lego will be touring the country with the Lego Friends Pop Stars bus to celebrate the launch of the new range, which hit shelves on 1st June.

The interactive experience will invite customers to get hands on with the latest sets and introduce them to the newest character in Heartlake City, pop starlet Livi. On arrival, fans can pose for photos outside, before meeting their host and getting on board where they will be treated to face, hand or arm glitter tattoos and lots of chances to build and create with the new Pop Stars themed sets, all set to the summer’s playlist.

Vanisha Khavia, Lego Friends brand manager, commented: “We’re extremely excited about the launch of the new Lego Friends Pop Stars range and are confident it’s going to be a big hit with fans. The tour bus will enable consumers to get hands on and build with the new sets whilst immersing themselves in the world of Lego Friends and learning all about the newest character in Heartlake City.”

The tour, which visits key retailers including Argos, Smyths and Toys R Us, kicked off on 6th June at Argos, Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester and concluding at Legoland Windsor from 3rd-6th September.

Mattel launches partnership with eDreams Mattel has partnered with eDreams to launch its summer campaign to drive sales of key brands including Barbie, Hot Wheels and Thomas & Friends.

The partnership is running from June to August and includes a competition which offers two winners the chance to win a holiday worth up to £5,000.

Pablo de Porcioles, director of business development for eDreams, said: “This promotion is a great way to gain increased exposure for both our brands to this important family audience. Strategic partnerships like this allow us to increase our customer engagement and directly impacts on our brand values and retention for future purchases.”

An extensive digital marketing campaign will be executed through engaging point of purchase displays in several key retailers.

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Hot Wheels partners with The Scout Association Hot Wheels is partnering with The Scout Association to engage with over 300,000 Beavers and Cubs.

The year-long partnership will encourage children to push their limits through new Hot Wheels experiences, driving them to become track building experts with The Connectors while teaching valuable scientific skills through hands on learning.

It will be supported with an extensive marketing programme that will include branded activity packs, editorial in Get Active magazine, plus online and social media engagement. The partnership will also be amplified at the Beaver and Cub Fun Day in June, where children will be able to visit the ultimate Hot Wheels Epic Race experience and put their racing skills to the test.

Wendy Hill, director of brand activation, Mattel, commented: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Scouts as it’s a fantastic way to engage with our target audience and existing brand advocates, while recruiting new Hot Wheels fans right across the UK.”

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22/06/2015 12:06:30

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

eOne extends partnership with Character Options

Character Options has added construction toys to Peppa Pig in the UK, Australia and New Zealand after its partnership with eOne was extended.

The company will manage distribution in the UK whilst Big Balloon and Planet Fun have been appointed official distributors for Australia and New Zealand respectively.

Scheduled to make its retail debut in January 2016, the new construction range will be themed the World of Peppa Pig with the eight new product lines made up of core elements from the pre-school TV series, including the Peppa Pig family house and car. A comprehensive TV marketing campaign will support the launch.

Hannah Mungo, head of UK Licensing for eOne, commented: “We’re delighted to be extending our partnership with Character Options. Over the course of our 11 year relationship, they have proven themselves to be a visionary partner who have been absolutely integral to the success of the consumer products programme. Character’s innate understanding of the Peppa Pig brand and its dedication to creativity and quality will ensure the success of the new construction toys when they launch early next year.”

Rubie’s unveils Adventure Times dress-up

The Adventure Time licensing programme continues to go from strength to strength as Rubie’s Masquerade unveils its new dress-up collection based on the hit Cartoon Network show.

Fans can now recreate their own Land of Oooo experience by dressing up as Jake the Human or his best pal Finn the Dog. Graham Saltmarsh, director of licensing, UK & Nordics, Cartoon Network, commented: “Role play is a huge part of Adventure Time as fans look for ways to extend the unique on screen experience into their everyday lives. We’re delighted to be welcoming Rubies to the licensing programme and I’m in no doubt that this new range of official costumes will be a hit.”

Cartoon Network is currently riding high as BAFTA Children’s Channel of the Year 2014 with ratings up 17% in 12 months. Adventure Time also won the Children’s BAFTA for the Best International Animation for the second year running (2013 and 2014).

Sega’s Sonic Boom series to air on Boomerang

Sega Europe has announced the launch of Sonic Boom, the first ever CG animated cartoon series for the brand.

The series is airing in the UK this summer on the family channel Boomerang and premiered exclusively on Monday 1st June. The CG animated cartoon has already seen a successful launch in the US on Cartoon Network and has been proving a big hit on Gulli and Canal J in France.

Sean Gorman, director of Kids’ Channels UK, Turner Broadcasting, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Sega Europe to launch Sonic Boom on Boomerang this June. Boomerang offers kids an exciting mix of family favourites and beloved classic cartoons. We think Sonic Boom is the perfect fit and we can’t wait to add the show to our exciting comedy and adventure line-up.”

Jason Rice, director of Brand Licensing EMEA, Sega Europe, said: “We are delighted to be partnering in the UK with Boomerang this summer.

The channel is a great fit with our Sonic audience sitting alongside other established boys TV series. The show has already received fantastic reaction in other key markets and we look forward to the continued momentum building here.”

Sonic Boom is the new branch of the Sonic universe, that debuts a new look for Sonic and friends. The TV series will be supported with an extensive global licensing programme, which is anchored by new master toy partner Tomy.

Lego to launch Angry Birds building sets

Rovio has announced a partnership with The Lego Group to develop a line of Angry Birds construction toys.

The toys will be available in spring 2016 to coincide with the release of The Angry Birds Movie.

Pekka Rantala, chief executive officer of Rovio, commented: “The Lego brand has an unparalleled ability to connect with people through products that spark creativity and imagination. We’re really excited to build experiences together with this amazing best-in-class partner.”

Jill Wilfert, vice president, licensing and entertainment, The Lego Group, added: “We are excited to bring Angry Birds to life in Lego form, given the popularity of the game and its characters with fans of all ages. We seek partnership with globally relevant properties that offer a unique and rewarding play experience to our fans, and our designers are having fun developing building sets that leverage the engaging play and deconstruction found in the Angry Birds game.”

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Spin Master named global toy partner for Noddy

Spin Master will serve as the master toy licensee for the relaunch of the pre-school franchise Noddy.

Alongside the all-new television series, Noddy Toyland Detective, a wide range of toys including figures, playsets, vehicles and games are slated to hit shelves in autumn 2016.

Adam Beder, executive vice president of global licensing for Spin Master, commented: “Our portfolio of licensed properties has grown immensely in recent years and we are thrilled to be welcoming a true legacy franchise like Noddy to the Spin Master family. Noddy already has deep heritage throughout Europe and we know he will continue to captivate children around the world.

It goes without saying that we can’t wait to introduce a new generation to the adventure and wonder that Noddy can bring to play time.”

Jonathan Baker, head of international consumer products for DreamWorks Animation, added: “Spin Master is the perfect partner for our reintroduction of Noddy. Noddy has a rich legacy around the world, and we know a whole new generation of children will be excited to join the new Noddy on his many adventures onscreen and off.”

Noddy Toyland Detective is slated to premiere on France 5 in spring 2016.

Gaumont Animation will distribute the series in France and French-speaking Europe.

Jazwares signs as master toy partner for Danger Mouse Jazwares will manufacture and distribute a range of Danger Mouse toys with an initial roll out in the UK and Eire, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand.

FremantleMedia Kids & Family has also confirmed two publishing deals: Penguin has signed for publishing in all English speaking territories, excluding North America, and DC Thomson has been appointed as the magazine publisher in the UK and Eire.

Rick Glankler, EVP and general manager, FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment, said: “We are delighted to announce these significant deals with best-in-class partners in the toy and publishing categories. Jazwares is renowned for its innovative product design.”

Laura Zebersky, CCO and EVP Global Sales, Jazwares, added: “Jazwares is thrilled to work with FremantleMedia Kids & Family on such an iconic brand as Danger Mouse. It’s an honour to create toys for the world’s greatest secret agent.”

Cartoon Network announces new Ben 10 series as Playmates is named partner

The new animated series will premiere on Cartoon Network international channels in autumn 2016 and in North America in 2017 and Playmates Toys will serve as the global master toy partner for the new Ben 10 franchise.

Man of Action will executive produce for Cartoon Network Studios and John Fang (Mixels, Generator Rex) is on board as supervising producer.

Featuring many new aliens, the series kicks off with the adventures of Ben, his cousin Gwen, and Grandpa Max as they travel the country.

Rob Sorcher, Cartoon Network chief content officer, said: “We decided it was time to introduce Ben to a new generation of kids. Ben 10 has been an overwhelming success story across all media platforms, and we know kids around the world will be eager to see the reinvention of this beloved character.”

Meanwhile, the new Playmates Toys toy line, which launches at retail in autumn 2017, will leverage the collectibility and role play elements of the franchise and include a range of figures, playsets, role play items and more.

Pete Yoder, vice president, Cartoon Network Enterprises, North America, commented: “With its commitment to innovation and deep understanding of the boys’ action space, Playmates Toys is the ideal partner with which to bring this new toy line to life and tap into the collectibility and aspirational qualities that are so core to Ben.” Thomas Chan, CEO, Playmates Toys, added: “We are thrilled to begin working with Cartoon Network and look forward to building an enduring partnership. We take great pride in our commitment to developing a full line of toys that capture the essence of the new Ben 10 series and provide young fans with an immersive and imaginative play experience.”

newsinbrief Mattel has been named as master toy partner for Dinotrux. The toy line inspired by the upcoming Netflix original series features large-scale characters and hero assortments.

Clementoni has signed a deal with National Geographic to produce a series of licensed adult jigsaw puzzles, with the first launch already available.

FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment has announced that it has greenlit the second season of Kate & Mim-Mim. Series two is due to launch on Disney Junior US and will then air globally in late 2015.

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Jazwares has announced an expanded global partnership for the video game, Terraria, with the company representing the brand’s licensed product portfolio and animation rights worldwide. eOne has announced a Build-ABear partnership for Peppa Pig, meaning children will be able to make their own Peppa Pig at Build-A-Bear Workshops this autumn.

Sakar International has announced a global licensing agreement to develop a new collection of branded electronics for MGA Entertainment’s Bratz fashion-doll line.

Licen$ing lowdown John Baulch reports from the Las Vegas Licensing Expo

“A

re you here for the cartoon thing? “ I’m asked by the lady behind the customs desk in Las Vegas McCarran Airport, and although I consider explaining that Licensing Expo is a little more comprehensive in its coverage of the whole licensing world rather than just cartoons, I decide to not to complicate proceedings and just answer yes. In many respects, it is indeed ‘the cartoons’ which I visited the show to see: although just about every licence under the sun is represented at the event, my focus was on properties and developments which will be of interest to the UK toy and kids’ licensing community, and cartoons – in the broadest sense of the word - play a key role.

As ever, it was a fascinating and highly productive show. It’s difficult not to feel energised by the passion and enthusiasm of exhibitors: maybe it’s the luck of the draw, but just about everyone I met had interesting news to share and was in an upbeat frame of mind. We look forward to sharing some of these developments in Toy World over the coming months.

Numerous major new global licensing deals were announced at the show: Jazwares was appointed as the master toy partner for Fremantle’s reboot of iconic British property Danger Mouse; Spin Master was announced as the master toy partner for the return of DreamWorks’ Noddy, and it was revealed that the company will also be introducing a brand new range of Angry Birds toys; Mattel was confirmed as the master toy partner for DreamWorks’ Monster Trux; MGA finally went public with the news that Bratz will be returning this autumn; Playmates was unveiled as the global master toy licensee for the new Ben 10 series: Just Play was announced as the master toy partner for Fremantle’s Kate and Mim Mim; eOne announced a partnership with Build-a- Bear Workshop for Peppa Pig that will launch in the UK this October and Warner Bros unveiled the new Batmobile, which attracted large numbers of smart-phone wielding photographers to its stand.

As much as the event gives visitors the chance to seek out new properties and discuss deals, it also represents a prime opportunity to get a sense of the latest trends and developments that are affecting the licensing arena. Over the course of the week, there were a number of noteworthy trends, including the fact that the traditional broadcast system is being massively disrupted by new media channels such as You Tube, Netflix, Awesomeness TV and Amazon Prime. Gone are the days of hanging around waiting for TV stations to make up their mind over broadcast plans and then neglecting to share them with anyone until the last

minute: there are now numerous – more immediate – ways to reach consumers, and I’ve been told repeatedly that the viewing figures and impact can be massive.

One British licensor told me that their show ended up gaining a huge audience via the You Tube app, leading to a flurry of enquiries from American licensees. The Talking Tom animated series has accumulated over 25 million viewers across four editions online, which is a staggering number by anyone’s standards. Everywhere I went, I was told that new series were being launched on Netflix or You Tube because there is a firm belief that this is where the kids are going in their droves.

This is a development which toy retail buyers are going to need to get their head round pretty quickly, but at the same time it certainly presents a major challenge for children’s broadcasters around the globe, many of whom have been struggling with the economics of their business models for a while.

Another challenge – this time for licensing companies – is the increasing power of Disney. I have even had a couple of people suggest they should be subject to anti-trust investigation. While I certainly wouldn’t go so far as to endorse that perspective, it is a sobering statistic that over 50% of the entertainment retail space in the UK is now estimated to be occupied

by Disney brands. I had always understood that retailers were reluctant to let the amount of their turnover held by individual toy companies rise over a certain percentage for fear it would give that company too much power, so one wonders how whether they are entirely happy for that level of turnover to come from a single licensor. Nevertheless, Disney clearly provides what the retailers are looking for: powerful brands, minimal risk and, crucially, money (of the cold hard cash variety). On that topic, I understand that one UK retailer recently gave a presentation to an invited group of licensors where the first slide asked “What do we want from you?” and the second slide replied “Money.”

On one level you have to admire their honesty and ability to cut to the chase, but whether this approach leads to the right product mix from a consumer’s perspective is an interesting point to debate.

One further trend to note is that of a changing approach to kids’ shows and movies, particularly in the script department. Humour seems to be the key to many new projects, and it’s increasingly becoming an edgier type of humour than you might initially think would be appropriate for content aimed at 6-10 year old kids. Rovio described their aim for next year’s Angry Birds movie to be seen as “the biggest comedic event of the year”, as opposed to a kids – or even family – movie. Like many other content providers, they are looking to more adult-oriented programmes such as the Simpsons and Family Guy to source writers.

There was a great quote at the Fremantle Danger

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Mouse presentation: “Like it or not, 10 year-olds are watching Family Guy, and it’s one of their favourite programmes.” This is the level against which new shows and movies are being judged, so once you go past the Pre-School category, safe and wholesome are out, edgy and irreverent are very much in.

Whenever the licensing community gathers, it’s always fun to hear about some of the wonderful jargon and buzzwords they employ: “It’s not just a phenomenon, it’s an icon”, “We are connecting the E of Entertainment with the L of Licensing” (delightfully David Brent-esque) and “It was the biggest movie opening weekend ever ....... for a February release” were just some of the contenders for the ‘Did they really just say that’ award. And apparently a ‘digital eco-system’ is a thing (or not as the case may be).

Someone also slipped in the ‘z’ word (zeitgeist), just to emphasise that the one thing the licensing community can’t be accused of is under-selling itself. Which is probably why Las Vegas – the home of ‘never knowingly understated’ - is the perfect home for the show.

I’ll leave you with one final example of the wit of licensees (who provided the above examples of amusing terminology): there was a series of small posters on the walls of the urinals, where the idea was to fill in the missing words in a phrase. Whoever the wag was who added this particular gem, I salute you.

The phrase said: “Licensing pros like their guarantees big and .......”To which one person had added “Utterly One-Sided.” Genius.

Licensed to Entertain While in Las Vegas for Licensing Expo, John Baulch caught up with The Entertainer’s Stuart Grant to find out why the show plays a vital role in the retailer’s approach to the licensing sector JB: As one of the few toy retailers to make the trip to Vegas for Licensing Expo, what makes it an important show to attend?

SG: We find it an incredibly useful show from a number of angles. We want to keep our finger on the pulse and make sure we know what’s happening in the licensing field in the short term. It’s also important to look at what is happening with properties in the future, so we can assess their long-term viability and decide how heavily to back them. This way, we don’t have to wait to see product at a supplier’s preview: we’re already familiar with the brand 12-18 months before the product is available.

By the time we see the product, we know all about the brand and what’s behind it, which puts us ahead of the competition. I have all the information about the show or movie: how many episodes, when it will be broadcast or released and what promotional activity is being put behind the brand. This gives us a broad overview of the whole licensing programme, not just a specific range.

JB: Does the show also give you the opportunity to discuss partnerships with the brand owners directly?

SG: Absolutely. We’re working directly with many of the major brand owners to help them launch ranges into the market. It gives us a real point of difference, and it offers a great route to market for both the licensor and licensees.

We are prepared to do a lot more than just stick product on a shelf and put a banner up in the window: we work hard to create a magical instore experience that other retailers struggle to match.

JB: Can you give us some examples of campaigns which have worked well for you?

SG: We recently partnered with Disney and Hasbro on the launch of the new Avengers Age of Ultron range. The promotional activity we put in place included demonstrating individual SKUs: on one of the SKUs we demonstrated, The Entertainer had 53% of the market according to NPD. And we certainly weren’t the cheapest retailer for that particular item. We also worked with Hasbro on a campaign to help Hasbro re-ignite the Equestria dolls brand. We knew it would be a popular initiative, but we didn’t expect such an amazing response. By 11 o’clock

Stuart Grant

on the morning of the promotion, we had given away all 12,000 dolls! What’s more, the whole campaign was activated at two weeks’ notice: we pride ourselves on being able to move quickly if we see the right opportunity.

JB: Do you have any forthcoming campaigns you can tell us about?

SG: At this stage I can announce an exciting new partnership with Nickelodeon – they’re a great company to work with, very nimble. We’re working with them to bring the Nickelodeon brand to life through products such as slime and gunge. We’ve developed an exclusive range of around 20 products which we’ll be TV advertising this Christmas. Nickelodeon will also be promoting the range on their channels and we’ll establish a strong in-store presence for the brand. It’s a great opportunity for us to differentiate ourselves. We’ve got another huge campaign coming up for Christmas which I can’t reveal any specific details on just yet.

Again, we’ve teamed up with a major licensor on a range we’ve helped to develop, which will include excusive product. I’m really excited about it.

JB: What is the key to a successful campaign?

SG: It’s certainly true that some licensors are

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very pro-active and better at driving their brands. We also believe it’s crucial to execute the activity properly. When we establish a partnership, we’re looking to the long –term and how we can add value. It’s my reputation on the line: the personal touch makes a big difference.

I buy every single product area, so I can make decisions across the whole store. This avoids the kind of disjointed decisions that can occur when you have a number of buyers working across different categories. That said, we work incredibly closely as a team to make sure we deliver value for those brand owners which choose to partner with us.

JB: You have a new team member joining shortly…..

SG: Yes, Mark Whittle will be joining The Entertainer as head of buying and merchandising on 6th July. Mark will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role: he has bought in every category and has a real understanding of how a good buying team works. He gives us extra resource: it’s important for us to stay nimble and reactive, while at the same time putting internal structures in place that will allow us to grow to 200-300 stores.

Mark will have a valuable part to play in that process.

NPD Column High price point purchases are not just for Christmas

The NPD Group’s Rory Partis looks at how the sales of toys over £50 are less seasonally-orientated than you might think

T

here was some recent press that said the UK had the highest spend per child on toys in the world. This assertion wasn’t based specifically on NPD data, but it is an interesting statistic especially with the sheer volume of sales and promotions around these days. The cost of any item is something that can be constantly compared; there are whole websites devoted to getting the best deals when it comes to shopping, and the toy market is no different.

With the rise of online shopping it is now so easy to do a bit of research and try and find the best price available on the particular item you’re looking for.

Where this really comes in handy is for more expensive items, larger toys that are possibly bought less frequently. We see this trend particularly in summer in the toy market with bigger ticket items being purchased such as trampolines and outdoor toys.

Our consumer panel data tells us that in 2014 around a third of all toys were purchased where the main reason of choosing that retailer was down to price. We have also seen the percentage of toys purchased on promotion creeping up over the last few years with around 40% of toys bought using some kind of promotion, that’s over £150m more spent on toys on promotion in 2014 than in 2010, a pretty big increase over the last four years. Let’s have a look at how this has affected the toy market in recent times and specifically at those higher price brackets.

Looking at NPD EPOS data we can see that around 10% of toy purchases in 2015 so far have been at the over £50 price point. This is roughly about the same percentage as for full year 2014, equating to £241m spent in the whole year, which is a fairly sizeable amount. If we look at the category breakdown for this price bracket, Outdoor Toys is the largest part, accounting for around 45% of the total value of this high price area. It’s not a huge surprise that Outdoor Toys are the number one category here but the second top category is actually Building Sets, which is also

growing strongly, with +22% Top 5 Categories at +£50 growth in 2014 at this price FY 2014 NPD EPOS Value % range. In fact the average price of % of +£50 Price Point Building Sets in the over £50 price range has increased from £69.95 Outdoor & Sports Toys 44.5 to £73.38, certainly evidence of consumers happy to spend money on the popular toys.

Building Sets 17.2 Another pointer towards the popularity of the higher price Infant/Preschool Toys 13.1 points is that they don’t actually tend to be purchased more at any particular time of year. It 9.8 Youth Electronics would be logical to think that Total Toys +£50 FY 2014 they would feature more in Q4 Dolls 5.4 when consumers would be more £241m likely to be buying that special Christmas present. However as I mentioned earlier these +£50 purchases equate to around 10% of the market and the purchase and this level hasn’t changed much at all that figure doesn’t change throughout the year. If for the last four years, in 2010 it was 13.2%. So it would anything, there is a slight over index in summer, when be logical to conclude that although promotions are outdoor toys are more likely to be purchased. While important, especially for the higher price points in there is a perception that there is a bias towards Q4, the toys, the features and specifics of the toy that are still reality is that the percentage of higher priced toys sold an important factor. is actually fairly consistent across the year.

If we think about promotions again and look across the categories we can see that those categories that do well at the higher price points are the ones that have a slightly higher percentage of being purchased on promotion. 44% of Outdoor Toys were purchased on promotion in 2014 with Youth Electronics also having a figure over 40%. There is certainly evidence that in these deal focused times consumers are still happy to spend money on higher priced items as long as they feel they are getting value. Shoppers are happy to spend £90 if they feel the real value of the item is more than £100. Going back to the percentage of toys bought on promotion again, remember that figure was around 40% for the total toy market, however only 14% of consumers say this was the primary reason for The NPD Group, Inc. | Proprietary and Confidential

Source: NPD EPoS Retail Tracking

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 22

talking shop Half way there Toy World’s Daniel Rich speaks to independent retailers about the hot topics of the month. This month Daniel asked retailers how they’ve performed during the first half of year, what will be hot this summer and meets a retailer with a difference.

Mark Stewart Owner, Wise Owl Toys, Worcester, Worcestershire The first half of the year was pretty good in terms of sales, they were a bit better than last year and I think this is due to the economy being on the up.

In the second half of the year the Christmas rush will prove to be a challenge, what with getting all the stock in. Internet sales are increasing which is also a challenge but we provide the customer service and a proper shopping experience with instore demonstrations. We made the top 20 shortlist for the best small shop in the UK this year which resulted in a reception in the House of Commons. We’ve also won the Dobble Challenge two years running, outselling the likes of Hamleys, Harrods and WH Smith and I feel this is down to our demonstrations which proves they work – we even played Dobble during the visit to the Houses of Parliament.

I’m really excited about Magformers, it’s different as the magnets don’t repel. It is also educational and brings added value with the instructions which show how to use the 2D templates and how the construction can be lifted to be made 3D. I also like Suspend which is a visual game, good for hand and eye co-ordination, the design of

the structure is new every time you play and almost architectural. We have both on display to try in our store and this offers a better shopping experience than sitting in front of a computer.

We have a left handed section in our store. My wife Heather and I started off as a left handed store 20 years ago; we drew inspiration from my left handed son, looking

for left-handed scissors for him when he was four years old and couldn’t find any so decided to do something about it. We run handwriting classes for children and have designed left handed writing skills books and a Writewell Mat. I run training courses to assist school teachers when helping left handed children.

In February this year, my wife and I had a

Connectable & Collectable making toys Limited For more information call:

0843 557 4062

4 Ramsay Court, Hinchingbrooke Business Park, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE29 6FY

or email:

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Toy World 23

meeting at Parliament with Nick Gibb, who served as Minister of State for Schools in the Department for Education at Parliament regarding reform in schools to benefit left handed children. We hope to have a prescribed module in initial teacher training which, going forward, will improve a lot of left handed children in education.

We moved to our current location 15 years ago and started stocking toys – the left hand side of our store is of course dedicated to our

left handed products. We are more than your everyday toy shop.

We keep on top of trends as we can react quickly between speaking to representatives and receiving the stock and try to be as proactive as possible. I feel we are quicker to react to trends than the bigger chains, and a benefit of being a small business is that we get more of a personal service.

I think during these summer months travel games such as Dobble will be popular

as people are going on holiday. We also have a big puzzle section including lines from Gibson, Ravensburger and House of Puzzles for both adults and children which are popular all year round. Another shop in Worcester did sell puzzles and closed down but there’s still a demand for them so we include them in our window display. The royal baby and VE Day puzzles are proving popular at the moment.

impact on our business. It’s the convenience of online shopping versus the experience of seeing an actual toy shop. We are a destination shop, a place for children to come and see for themselves, to touch and choose and soak in the atmosphere - the internet cannot offer that.

Irish Fairy Doors are one of the few products new to the market which encourage imagination rather than fad-based products, which are high volume but short lived. Our aim is to present our clientele with good quality, thought-based toys. We have been trying for some time to give preference to

European and U.S. manufactured products.

We hope in a small way to have a role in rejuvenating manufacturing closer to home.

Our gain from this strategy is a more even playing field with the large companies who rely largely on imports (FOB) from the Far East.

Everyone is hoping for a fantastically sunny summer with lots of outdoor play and products such as Nerf Super Soakers, swimming pools, scooters, kites and Frisbees set to sell well. For the rainy day there’s arts and crafts and construction toy lines.

Clark and Katerin Pezeshkian, Co-owners, The Toy Station, Richmond, Surrey After a fairly decent Christmas, trade has been constant but slowed through January and February. Trade then picked up over Easter, especially with the new products trickling in, such as Ninja Turtle figurines, Shopkins, Lego, Sylvanian Families, Galt and Orchard toys.

I believe keeping up with the trends and keeping our stock fresh and current will prove a challenge during the second half of the year. We listen to our customer requests and endeavour to stock them, as well as mixing in new and innovative products that we feel will enhance our customers’ shopping experience.

I find trade magazines are a great source of finding out what is new, we also tend to visit other shops as well as follow social media such as Twitter, Facebook and parenting websites to seek out new products.

We additionally see representatives from different companies.

The biggest challenge this year has been keeping on top of fast sellers and abreast of our competition on the High Street as well as online stores, which are fast becoming our main competition. Our sales year on year are comparable so far.

I wouldn’t say anything has really surprised me recently regarding trade, maybe the industry has become overly cautious.

Online retailers and supermarkets who discount their products are having the most

For more information call:

making toys Limited.

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Toy World 24

Bill Deakin, Owner, Silly Billy’s Toy Shop,

indie viewpoint

Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire The first half of the year has been alright, better than last year. Lego is outstripping everything else in the shop by a long way, the sales are up on last year and this is primarily because the research and development is good and Lego produce very good products year on year.

We feel that there has been a downturn in footfall since the general election, after a successful start to the year. Also with the improved weather conditions we would expect sales to increase, but the reverse is true at the moment.

Having been involved in the industry for quite a long time I tend to be more pragmatic than excited when it comes to new products. We have recently re-introduced Sylvanian Families and taken on Orange Tree Toys, both of which are doing OK in terms of sales so far. We believe it is advantageous to freshen up the shop with new lines each year.

The last year overall has been better than the previous year and the business is improving. This improvement is probably because we have less competition in terms of independent toy shops within our geographical area. Spending more time and energy on social media and promoting ourselves online in the last year has probably helped as well. We also use social media such as Facebook and Twitter to keep on top of trends, but also read trade magazines and listen to customer feedback, which is important to this local area.

We were trading well online but in the last 3-4 months this has decreased, as a result we are holding stock that we are not selling online. The reason we are not selling online is that we are not prepared to come down on our prices so much that we are virtually giving products away which seems to be the trend.

Usually in the summer here in Hebden Bridge we sell a lot of footballs and kites. Water Pistols and other water play toys are also popular when it’s warmer.

Looking forward, we have recently had new shop signs created by a local sign-writer and have just put them up outside to give our store a refresh.

If you would like to get involved with next month’s Talking Shop, please get in touch with Daniel: 01442 502 407, daniel@toyworldmag.co.uk

Mark Buschhaus and Stephen Barnes Toy Barnhaus

Stocked up for summer

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i all. After a great Toymaster show in May, with lots of buying and socialising, we are now facing the consequences. After a few quiet weeks, the juggernauts are rolling in with all the stock that we ordered at the show. There were certainly some great deals, and here’s hoping our customers think so too, as we certainly have the stock for them. Trade over the half term was good, with a slow start in the sunshine, and the rain at the end of the week helping it out. Overall May was a good month for trade, even compared with the effect of looms starting to build last year. The plush category has been great for us over the last few months, with TY beanies absolutely flying out at the moment. Action figures has been another strong category for us, with Marvel Avengers, WWE and turtles all selling well.

As we write this in the middle of June, the Barnhaus satellite has finally brought some good weather, but only for a few days unfortunately. So far, the weather has been rather cool, and our stacks of paddling pools are not coming down at all. Despite this, there are a few winners for us; Phlatballs from Vivid are a real winner, along with the Wubble Balls. A new craze for this year is the Bouncing Go Go bubbles, and the TV advertising on this is certainly driving sales. Fingers crossed that the weather improves into July, so we really do shift some summer stock this month.

So far, we planned the hottest day very well, with a nice excursion out to Grant & Bowman’s new showroom in West London. We did comment on their new lighting, which is exactly the same as in our shops. And it certainly lit up some bargains. With four out of 10 toys now sold on promotion, having an element of reduced stock in store is key for us. To top it all off, we went to a nice Italian round the corner for lunch – they certainly know how to increase our spend with them.

Our single biggest brand in store; Lego; has been very strong again this year, showing good growth. The mid-year launches have been very strong, with the new City, Friends and Ninjago proving popular. Lego truly can do no wrong at the moment. With the new Jurassic World also going well, and Star Wars to come, it looks to be another great year. This month sees the release of one of our favourite products from Toy Fair, K’nex Blasters. We have already planned a couple of events outside our shops, with customers trying to hit moving targets. These should really help show off the brand to the customer. We are also impressed with the rebranding work that Spin Master have done with Meccano, and are confident that the sales will increase this year.

With two massive film releases about to hit us: Jurassic World and Minions, we are hopeful that these will help fill the shortfall in looms from last year. We both have our seats booked and are ready with our popcorn. We are certainly noticing an uplift on dinosaurs at the moment, across Jurassic products, and also Schleich dinosaurs and figures. We expect Minions to be our biggest hit of the summer, with toys and accessories appealing to a wide range of ages. I think we sell as much Minions product to adults as we do kids, and our Minions window is proving a great draw.

Happy trading to you all, and here’s to hoping summer finally arrives.

Toy World 25

viewpoint Toy World shares insight and opinion

David Ripley COO of Winning Moves

Distoy refelctions

I want to start this month by thanking the Distoy organisers for arranging a top class Toy show in June. Although the show is targeted at distribution relationships, it still

Jim Hawker co-founder of Threepipe PR and digital marketing agency.

Digital flexibility

There has been some great research released recently from IDG examining what the biggest growth drivers in supermarket revenue will be over the next 10 years. These are principally the rise of online shopping; the growth of discounters such as Lidl and Aldi and then the rise of convenience stores.

It appears that we are increasingly shopping online, looking for bargains and becoming less loyal – something which probably isn’t much of a surprise.

The one area that I did find interesting was that online grocery spend is actually quite a small percentage of the total shop when compared to other sectors such as fashion and travel. Even with fast growth

ranks right up there alongside my favourite ‘closed door’ Toy show in Deauville, France which takes place each November.

Having personally visited in excess of 40 showrooms in four days at Distoy it was great to see a broad array of suppliers showing edited ranges and being very positive generally about how the show was developing each year and the diversity & quality of the potential customers that were attending. My remit was to seek opportunities for India and the SAARC territories which in itself is a varied economic region spanning the Maldives, Afghanistan and Bhutan to name a few.

After seeing so many different products it would not be fair to name check any particular supplier or indeed brand but there were several from entry level products

to top end price points that will easily translate into territories where average household earnings are well below those of most Western economies.

For suppliers dealing with predominantly retail customers it was interesting to understand how distributor pricing was set in anticipation of there being a ‘few more links in the chain’. One particular supplier had every product priced at $4, no need to trawl through extensive price-lists in search of the answer to the most asked question of ‘how much is it?’. Genius.

Overall it’s a great show for finding distribution partners in markets as yet untapped but ready for great toys and of course for catching up generally on what is happening in the global world of toys.

over the next 10 years, the total amount of online grocery spend will be far lower than these other sectors as a proportion of overall spend.

We have been running a strategic review for a client about how they should invest their digital money over the next five years and the main conclusion that we reached was that it should be used primarily to drive offline sales, rather than online.

That may sound rather counter intuitive, but research shows that there is less loyalty offline which equals opportunity in driving trial of new products which can be converted to repeat purchase through an effective eCRM programme (amongst other things).

Most shoppers entering supermarkets already know which brand that they want to buy. Establishing an emotional connection before the point of purchase is absolutely crucial. Executing this within supermarkets is fraught with problems. There has been a mixed reaction by brands that have trialled the use of ibeacons, in store Wi-Fi and tablets in terms of delivering quality branded content or promotional messaging.

Also, within the store, the shopper is bombarded with own brand promotions which tempt them away from the higher priced brand choices.

Delivering targeted content to your consumer to drive awareness, consideration and then purchase is crucial. This means understanding the right digital channels to use and how often to use them. We will soon be trialling the delivery of coupons via mobile for redemption in store but the smart approach will come when we start geo targeting these promotions around specific stores and testing different types of creative. There is also a huge amount of innovation in ecoupon delivery via the different social channels, including Facebook and YouTube – both extremely popular with mums.

What is clear however, is the need for rigorous testing. We are able to test at a very granular level before gaining enough confidence to deliver national rollout of promotional campaigns specific to different retailers.

Building a digital strategy for the next five years is almost impossible – it requires a hugely agile approach that can take advantage of new opportunities in content creation and the targeted delivery of it.

But there are some fantastic ways that brands can drive offline sales without totally relying on gondola ends and in store promotions with smart and creative thinking.

Toy World 26

Brand profile

Little Live Pets are set to fly in 2015

Little Live Pets quickly established itself as the market leading interactive pet brand following its launch last year. Toy World takes a look at the brand’s performance in 2015 so far.

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ittle Live Pets, from Moose Enterprise, is now one of Character Option’s most successful brands and has generated huge media coverage and picked up multiple awards.

Most notable is the Bird and Birdcage, which topped retailers’ Christmas wish lists, became a Dream Toy and was awarded an Interactive Toy of the Year Award at Toy Fair in January.

With high demand from retailers and many new product introductions, 2015 will see the brand go from strength to strength.

Jerry Healy, marketing director, Character Options, commented: “We have a huge marketing drive in place. Each new product range will have a dedicated TV spot and be supported with a fully immersive PR campaign across digital and print.”

New for 2015, the Series 3 Birds and Butterflies have already launched and a spring launch of the Mummy and Baby Owl has achieved strong sales. Throughout the summer, children will be able to create their own pet shop in their bedrooms with the introduction of several new species.

There are six adventurous mice to collect each with their own personalities and squealing sounds. They can be calmed when placed in the palm of a child’s hand and will scoot when their backs are tickled. The mice explore obstacles, tracks, floors and can scurry onto their wheel in the Mouse House.

Four Lil’ Turtles launch in August and can swim in water and walk on land. Each turtle

is unique with shell designs that show off its personality.

The Turtle Tank allows the pet to walk around and then dive into the water for a swim.

September will see the launch of four new Sweet Talking Friends. Traditional pets of puppies and kittens are represented as new electronic four legged friends while a duckling adds to the bunch. Each has the inventive talk back feature and there is a Carry Basket for them to sleep in.

Clever Keet launches in September and is Character’s number one feature product launch of the autumn.

Anticipation from retailers has heightened dramatically since his unveiling at Distoy in June.

Jerry Healy added: “From the very beginning we have believed that Clever Keet has the potential to be one of the toys of the year.”

Clever Keet is a fully interactive singing and talking bird. Give him a name and he will talk and play in all kinds of ways – children can pet him, chat with him, help him learn new words, see him flap his wings and watch as he moves his head. He also has his own interactive

Toy World 27

playground, where he swings on his perch, feeds from his tray and dances in his mirror.

With an abundance of new releases, it’s clear that the future continues to look bright for Little Live Pets.

For more information about Little Live Pets call Character Options on 0161 633 9800.

Feature

Nickelodeon London flagship store opens its doors The new flagship Nickelodeon store in London’s Leicester Square opened last month, and Toy World was given a sneak peek ahead of its launch. Publisher John Baulch reports…

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fter a refit which has taken the past 9 months, the two floor unit on the corner of Leicester Square, next to the popular M&M store, has been transformed into a cutting edge piece of immersive retail theatre which showcases Nickelodeon’s brands to full effect.

The venture is a collaboration between Nickelodeon and its long-term retail partner, SRI. The first Nickelodeon branded retail outlet opened in Panama in 2013, while the London branch is the sixth to launch, and the first in Europe. The London store is different in a number of ways: existing stores are single floor shops located in malls, while London is a standalone unit, arranged over two floors, with the larger space allowing scope for more interactive features and greater depth of ranging.

Entering the shop, the compact ground floor area is dedicated to a selection of London-specific souvenir merchandise, predominantly featuring SpongeBob Squarepants and the gang. All of the products are bespoke, utilising the London location to good effect on unique designs such as SpongeBob Leicester Square Pants and SpongeBob and the gang walking across the zebra crossing outside Abbey Road Studios.

The product mix seems ideal for the combination of overseas tourists and domestic visitors who will make up the store’s clientele: a whopping 17 million people walk through Leicester Square every year, so it’s a huge potential target market to aim at.

Heading up the stairs to the first floor space, the use of multimedia screens, projections and graphics highlights the fact that the store is a showcase for some of the entertainment world’s most-popular brands. The overall feel of the store is upmarket with a strong emphasis on design and retail theatre, both in terms of the retail architecture and product mix.

The floor space is divided into a series of mini ‘shop in shop’ areas, each focusing on a particular brand or product segment. There is an Infant & Pre-School section, highlighting brands such as Dora, Paw Patrol and Bubble Guppies. It’s also the first time that a range of SpongeBob baby merchandise has been available in the UK. The Fashion area incorporates clothing aimed at every age group, from infant to adult (unlike, for example, the Disney Store, which avoids the adult clothing area). The adult merchandise incorporates retro brands such as Ren & Stimpy and Rugrats, alongside items featuring original comic book imagery of the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles. There is also a dedicated Turtles zone, which utilises plumbing taken from the original building to create a suitably urban look and feel. In addition to these established brands, the layout presents the opportunity to trial

properties which have been successful in other markets, such as Fanboy & Chum Chum and Winx.

SRI’s strength across the softlines categories is evident in the quality of the merchandise on show. All of the apparel is custom-made, with a strong focus on fashion, design and quality. The products are notable for the subtlety of the character placement, emphasising the fashionconscious element of the approach.

As SRI has been responsible for establishing stores in the Middle East and Latin America, the company knows from experience what has worked in other markets, and has used its knowledge to shape the product offering. While a significant volume of product has been sourced from UK licensees, there are many additional lines to round out the product mix, so that it appeals to tourists as well as domestic shoppers.

The store’s product areas are interspersed with some standout features, including the SpongeBob i-pad bar – which allows kids to play with Nickelodeon-related games and apps on i-pads – and a Dora the Explorer colouring bar, where younger children can colour in pictures. The mix of tech and traditional blends seamlessly, helping to create an environment which will appeal to the whole family, from infant to grown-up.

The merchandise reflects the broad generational appeal, with products catering for the whole age spectrum. Around 80% of the products are produced

by Nickelodeon’s retail partner SRI, with the other 20% being sourced from local and global licensees. The apparel category is strongly represented, but there is also a healthy presence for toys and related categories.

Overall, SpongeBob is anticipated to be the store’s best-seller, and the sea of yellow certainly makes an impressive statement. However, a broad spread of Nickelodeon properties are represented throughout the store and seasonal products will also form a key part of the product mix.

If you’re in Leicester Square over the coming

Toy World 28

weeks, I can heartily recommend a visit. As the first flagship store to be launched in Europe, it’s a highly impressive piece of modern retail theatre. The breadth of merchandise caters for the whole family, and it’s evident that great care has gone into ensuring the product mix builds on the ranges which other retailers are stocking, and offers many unique items which I’m sure will prove hugely popular with Nickelodeon fans of all ages.

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Brand profile

Playmobil Supercharged Playmobil’s marketing manager Jamie Dickinson talks to Toy World about the new Super 4 television series and the opportunities that the toy range offers for retailers.

Can you tell us about the new Super 4 TV series?

Super 4 is an animated children’s TV series aired on CITV, inspired by Playmobil. Shaped around popular Playmobil worlds (Pirates, Fairies, Knights & Top Agents), the series follows the adventures of four new heroes Alex, Gene, Ruby and Twinkle.

How did the idea for the programme come about?

Morgenstudios approached us a few years back with the idea of bringing the Playmobil worlds to life. We’re always looking at new ways to encourage children to enjoy creative play, so an animated series offered a fantastic opportunity to introduce new worlds and characters for little ones to add to their playtime.

What broadcast plans are in place for the UK market?

CITV has commissioned a second series of Super 4, with an air date still to be confirmed in 2016.

Who do you think the core target audience will be?

We expect the series to appeal to five to nine year olds with a keen sense of adventure.

When will the Playmobil range launch?

The Super 4 toy range is due for UK release in September 2015.

Can you give us some details of the launch range.

We’ll be launching a range of 16 playsets based on the characters and their adventures featured in the series, aimed at five to nine year olds. Products range from key characters, to the settings of their adventures including a Pirate Cave and Take Along Black Baron’s Castle, which viewers will recognise from the series.

What opportunity does this new range offer Super 4 and toy retailers?

The first series is proving very popular indeed, with viewing figures across the first 26 episodes (SeptDec 2014) consistently outperforming the time slot’s average, with the highest rated episode reaching 175K children. It’s a great opportunity for Playmobil and toy retailers to engage with CITV’s audience and offer them playsets that allow them to play along with the series at home and invent their very own scenarios for our heroes.

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We’ll be supporting September’s range launch with some exciting bigger PR activity to drive sellthrough, continuing right up until Christmas 2015, along with a dedicated TV advertising campaign.

How do you see the Super 4 range developing in 2016 and beyond?

As with all Playmobil ranges, we will continue to improve and develop playsets that children ask for.

This will include more key figures from the show, along with new sets based on the different play worlds.

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Feature

Construction

Building the foundations The construction toy category is one of the largest and most profitable sectors in the UK toy trade, so it’s not surprising that a number of new companies have recently entered the market. Emily Ansell Elfer reports.

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he construction toy category remains incredibly popular with retailers and consumers alike, partly because of the perceived value for money and replay value its products offer.

The big players in the UK market all performed strongly in 2014 and have continued their success into this year.

Lego not only held all top 10 items in the total construction toy market last year, but sales in the UK experienced double digit growth, with much of the company’s success attributed to the Lego Movie and core lines including City, Star Wars, Technic and Friends.

2014 also marked the relaunch of K’nex in the UK and this year the company has launched into the blaster category with the new K-Force range. Spin Master is revamping Meccano’s brand image for autumn and is bringing the Meccanoid G15 personal robot to consumers. Meanwhile, Mattel is focusing on the recently acquired Mega Bloks brand with a number of new launches and collaborations.

However, there are also a number of new companies entering the UK market and giving the established brands a run for their money.

One of those newcomers is Magformers, a magnetic construction toy which launched in the UK this year after making a splash in Asia and the US. Magformers’ Trevor Smith commented: “We know that kids in other countries have enjoyed playing with Magformers in their homes as well as in nursery schools, so the UK was a natural choice for us. The reaction to the launch has been very positive. The retailers who have already decided to stock Magformers have commented on the quality of the toy.”

Trevor says that retailers have said the product is fresh and innovative and they really like the educational value. Some Magformers sets come with educational guides, cards and exercises to help children understand maths and geometry.

Another new construction toy range is Bizzy Bitz, which consists of shapes which lock together using a ball and socket system. The brand was created by a family with a number of years’ experience working with children in the education sector.

Creator Alta Fogel commented: “With Bizzy Bitz, the shapes can easily be joined together to create a multitude of 3D shapes as well as recognisable and even moving models. There are instruction leaflets to help the child understand how to get started, but once they have grasped the concept, their imagination takes over and the building possibilities are endless.”

Co-creator Rachel Fogel added: “It has always been our aspiration to ‘build children for the future’. Looking into the construction toy ranges currently on the market we felt that, although each system out there has advantages, they were all considerably limited from a developmental stand. We managed to invent a system which is totally learn through play. Bizzy Bitz offers fun combined with a multitude of learning skills.”

Engino Toy Systems opened an office in the UK earlier this year in order to enhance the company’s presence in this region and strengthen its supply network.

David Kelly, Engino Toy Systems UK, says the company sees the construction toy category as a steady but competitive market. “There are some major market-leading brands, which will continue to perform really well,” he commented. “However, there is always room for new products, ideas and concepts just like in manufacturing and engineering in the ‘real world’.”

David believes a strong seller in this category needs to be well-made and really engage a child’s imagination to sustain their interest. However, a key challenge is that there is so much choice and children are now becoming interested in computer games from a young age.

He explained: “There is always the fear of kids just simply growing out of construction toys and products, especially when they have so much choice and their free time is often dominated by gaming, social media and smartphone or tablet usage. This is one of the reasons why Engino has fully embraced technologies like WiFi and robotics – to be relevant and to help keep kids inspired and interested in construction toys.”

Like Magformers and Bizzy Bitz, it is clear that Engino is focusing on including educational elements in its products. The company offers a Stem learning range with programmable robotics and learning booklets included. David says that this is because the school curriculum now focuses on subjects such as ICT and DT. “Coding and programming are becoming fundamental in schools, therefore successful construction toy brands will need to appreciate this,” he added.

Rudy Valenta from Magna-Tiles echoes David’s thought on this subject and also points out that construction toys can teach children things that digital technology cannot.

He commented: “I think educators and parents are seeing the value of hands-on play and the importance of developing motor skills at a young age with construction toys. Technology is neat but not everything can be solved on a tablet. “Stem activities taught in classes have really helped the construction category. We have grown from being just toys for children to now also being an educational tool for educators with a focus on skill development and empowering children to build and create what they choose.”

Rudy says that the biggest challenge for companies working in this category is keeping ideas fresh and expanding beyond the block and tile. He hopes that this is something that Magna-Tiles is currently achieving:

Toy World 32

“Magna-Tiles are unique and stand out because of how multi-functional they are. Anyone can use them. What you can build is only limited by one’s imagination, and not only is our product fun, it’s educational.”

Jonathan Thorpe at John Crane agrees that thinking outside the box is a challenge in the construction toy sector. “It’s difficult to come up with something ‘new’.

There have been many versions of the same thing over the years so it’s always a constant development issue,” he commented.

However, he also thinks that it is the simplicity of the company’s Bristle Blocks brand that makes it so successful. The product is known by consumers and they know exactly what they’re getting when they purchase it.

Jonathan explained: “It’s a basic and loved construction toy and it’s actually most importantly a fantastic product in its simplicity and flexibility.”

Speaking to retailers, it’s clear to see that construction toys provide year-round sales and keep customers coming back for more as they collect different sets.

Stephen Barnes, of Toy Barnhaus, told Toy World: “The construction category is very strong for us at the moment. Obviously Lego, being the biggest brand that we sell, dominates our sales in construction. It is a key footfall driver for our stores, and we pride ourselves in being the destination for it in the towns that we are in. We find that the bigger sets sell all year round, so keeping a diverse range is key. Our other two main brands are K’nex and Meccano. We are looking forward to the K’nex Blasters later this month. Also, we like the rebranding Spin Master have done on Meccano, and are excited for the new ranges later this year.”

Over the next few pages we present a selection of products from companies working in the construction toy sector as well as interviews with some of the category’s key players.

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Construction

Making the Meccanoid Emma Eden, marketing manager at Spin Master, gives Emily Ansell Elfer an insight into the Meccanoid G15 KS and the brand’s new makeover.

K’nex feels the force K’nex UK managing director Paul Fogarty talks to Emily Ansell Elfer about the K-Force range and Stem learning experiences.

Can you give us an insight into the K-Force range?

This year we entered the blaster category with K-Force, a range of buildable, customisable blasters. We were inspired to create the range when we discovered that hundreds of thousands of fans were already searching online for instructions to make K’nex blasters. This audience driven product development is testament to our dedication to offering true innovation to consumers.

The K-Force line hits great price points and every blaster is packed full of combo and multi-build features for maximum play value. With a robust marketing support programme including online, offline, TV and in-store experiences, K-Force is already performing well and we’re looking forward to developing it further.

Tell us about K’nex’s involvement in Stem learning experiences…

Children can enjoy hands on Stem learning experiences with K’nex both at home and at school, thanks to its unique qualities of scale and movement.

K’nex is used in classrooms across the UK to bring to life Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (Stem) concepts, and this year we launched our K’nex Teachers Build Futures campaign which asks pupils to nominate teachers who make learning fun. It’s been great reading the entries every month and hearing what a difference K’nex makes in the classroom, often helping science teachers win over pupils who previously disliked the subject.

What can we expect from K’nex over the coming months?

In short, bucketloads of product innovation. With K-Force already performing well, two additional new lines are also being launched in the next couple of months. K’nex Beasts Alive is set to be a popular addition to the construction aisle, offering buildable dinosaur and dragon playsets which incorporate motorised walking and wing movements. K’nex Mighty Makers will offer girls Stem learning experiences through aviation, horticulture and marine biology themed playsets. The line will bring to life aspirational careers in a totally new way, so girls can play out being pilots, engineers, architects and more.

What makes the K’nex brand stand out in the market?

With a strong product range for 2015 starting from just £2.99, there’s something for every shopper whether they’re an impulse buyer or big ticket gift giver. At the heart of the K’nex range remains a collection of building tubs and treasure chests with generous piece counts and dozens of inspiring creative building ideas. We work hard to constantly innovate within the construction market, launching new lines such as K-Force, Beasts Alive and Mighty Makers. With such great scale and potential for movement, K’nex is also an ideal product to encourage footfall through strong window displays, particularly for independents. To this day, nothing shouts ‘toy shop’ more than a K’nex Ferris Wheel in the window.

What’s your personal favourite product?

That’s easy – the K-Force Mega Boom. It’s a huge build and an awesome piece of kit with the added ability to build six different versions including targets and, if you want, two blasters so you can battle with your mates. It has a huge amount of post-build play value.

Tell us a bit about the Meccanoid G15 KS… Meccanoid G15 KS is the hero item of Meccano’s new Tech range. It’s the first of many innovative tech based Meccano lines and has been wowing the trade and consumers wherever it goes. First of all you build your own personal robot from over 1000 new polycarbonate Meccano pieces and then are you are able to programme your robot in a really simple way. Meccanoid has his own personality and will interact with you with pre-programmed jokes and phrases, as well as dancing and shaking your hand. Meccanoid will not only encourage kids to build but also to start to get into programming which is now part of the curriculum. The build possibilities are endless as you can take your parts and turn them into anything you can imagine. We are also introducing a smaller robot Meccanoid G15 which at about two feet tall is around half the size of Meccanoid G15 KS. What sort of response have you had to the Meccanoid G15 KS so far?

It has been truly amazing. Retailers are really on board and very excited about its launch in August. Meccanoid G15 KS has already featured on BBC Click and The Paul O’Grady Show, as well as all of the national newspapers and tech magazines including T3 and Wired. It is also featured in electronics retailer Maplins’ national television campaign. We’re confident Meccanoid G15 KS will also feature on Christmas wish lists in 2015 and beyond.

Can you tell us about the new look that Meccano is getting from autumn?

We have spent a lot of time refreshing the Meccano brand and product range over the past 18 months. In addition to simplifying the range and adding Meccano Tech, we’ve updated the packaging to give it a cleaner, more modern, look which will be introduced shortly. We have new parts which add to its new contemporary feel and new ergonomic tools to make the build process simpler.

In addition, we have ensured that model is something which children of today can relate to and recognise, and to that end will be also introducing well-known licences such as Mercedes.

Why should retailers be stocking Mecccano?

Meccano is unique in that it has genuine heritage and very high awareness levels. Coupled with Spin Master’s innovation and commitment to marketing, it really does make Meccano a must have construction brand. There is so much new development for 2015, 2016 and beyond that Meccano is really going to regain its place as a key brand in the construction market.

What’s your personal favourite Meccano product?

It has to be Meccanoid G15 KS – I love the fact that he has his own quirky personality, and that he will evolve as you want him to.

Our team have done an amazing job. There’s no doubt that he’s my toy of the year.

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Mega success

Wendy Hill, director of brand activation at Mattel, speaks to Emily Ansell Elfer about the integration of Mega Bloks into the Mattel family and the company’s plans for the brand this year.

What can we expect from Mega Bloks over the coming months?

We are really excited about our strong First Builders range, now part of the trusted Fisher-Price family, offering younger builders’ hours of open-ended play while enhancing their development skills. Firm favourites including the Big Building Bag and Build ’n Learn Table are complemented by the new Push ‘n Pull Block Picker. Plus the new Thomas & Friends collection will introduce the Zooming Along at Brendam Docks playset featuring a buildable and motorised Thomas engine.

We also can’t wait for the launch of the Mega Bloks Minions line supported by the release of the popular Minions movie in June. The range features fantastic new Minions construction sets including 65 buildable Minion characters so kids can play out their favourite adventures from the film with the key characters.

We also have a great portfolio of licenses with Monster High and Barbie in the girls’ category and are very excited about the Collectors construction range featuring a new line to support the highly-anticipated launch of Halo 5 in October. The range includes intricately detailed Mega Bloks Halo figures to bring scenes from the game to life.

Why did Mattel wish to acquire Mega Bloks?

The acquisition of Mega Bloks established an opportunity for Mattel to enter into a category in which it that it wasn’t currently represented. The construction category is the largest in the toy industry so when you combine that with Mega’s already strong brand awareness and Mattel’s strengths in marketing and distribution, it is a great opportunity for us.

Since the acquisition, how have you developed the brand?

Mega now has access to worldwide consumer insights and extremely talented design teams enabling us to identify new opportunities strengthen the brand and develop great construction toys.

What makes this brand standout in such a competitive market?

As a growing segment within the toy industry and a key play pattern, retailers are keen to support construction as it provides so many opportunities. Not only does Mega Bloks create toys for toddlers, but we also cater for older children and adult collectors, so there is something to suit every retailer.

Mega Bloks is showing momentum and is currently the number two manufacturer within the Building Sets category and number one manufacturer within the Junior Building Sets category, featuring heavily in the top 10.

What do you make of the current state of the construction toy sector?

The construction sector is currently one of the biggest drivers of the toy industry and is a key play pattern for boys and girls, with two in five owning and playing with construction toys at least once a month. It’s also a parent favourite as construction encourages creativity, imagination and accomplishment as well as offering problem solving and encouraging sibling bonding and storytelling. In terms of growth, there are definitely further opportunities within this sector.

How do you see the Mega Bloks products developing to keep fresh?

We consistently strive for innovation whether it’s looking to enhance pre-schooler’s development skills with our First Builder’s range or by adding new

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exciting ways to play with established brands through construction.

Is 2015 shaping up to be the biggest year yet for Mega?

Mega Bloks is celebrating 30 years in the construction toy industry this year and, as a result, we could not be more thrilled about the numerous additions and innovations in the pipeline. Whether it be our awardwinning pre-school line, the extension of our girls’ portfolio with one of Mattel’s leading brands, our new box office movie licensees for boys, or the expansion of our popular collectors’ construction series, Mega Bloks has something new and exciting to offer every member of the family.

What are your long term goals?

In 2016, we aim to maintain the position as the number one brand in Junior Construction while expanding our offering in other key sectors such as kids’ construction.

We are also creating an innovative campaign to support First Builders with new communications to mums. We are continuing to build licensed portfolio by maximizing new licensor partnership opportunities at retail with hot new properties.

What’s your personal favourite Mega Bloks product?

I would have to say that my personal favourites from the Mega Bloks range are from First Builders including the fantastic 123 Learning Train and Move ‘n’ Groove Caterpillar – set to be key players within the overall Mega Bloks brand portfolio this year.

Construction

Spin Master

01628 535 000 | www.spinmastertoys.co.uk

Lego

01753 495 000 | www.lego.com For 2015, Lego City has seen introductions to its sub-ranges: Great Vehicles, Demolition and Swamp Police, and will launch the exploration themes of Deep Sea and Space for the second half of the year.

This year has seen the return of Lego Ninjago, with new Masters of Spinjitzu TV episodes airing on Cartoon Network, and an extensive and complementary product range to match. In addition to classic Lego building sets there are new Airjitzu Flyers launching.

The Star Wars movie year sees Lego Star Wars unveil an assortment of sets, including the introduction of constractable figures for the first time in the brand’s history.

Lego Marvel Superheroes and Lego DC Comics SuperHeroes continues its partnership with Disney and Warner Brothers with an assortment of sets based on Avengers Age of Ultron and the upcoming Ant-Man. Six different DC Comics Justice League sets are also available, including Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Superman.

Lego Technic recruitment lines include pull-back vehicles, while larger scale models such as the iconic Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245 and Crawler Crane come complete with the Lego power functions system for an interactive experience.

Lego Minecraft continues to generate huge interest and success.

Four new sets will be launching this autumn, including The Dungeon which was named one of the best new toys at Toy Fair.

The re-launch of Lego Bionicle is immersing a new generation of children in one of the company’s most popular Lego franchises, while The Legends of Chima has been expanded further with new licensed brand introductions including Jurassic World, Scooby Doo and Lego Speed Champions.

Lego has unveiled a further three sets under the Lego Movie banner to reflect memorable scenes from the film.

Lego Minifigures series launches include a second Simpsons wave for the summer and a Monsters themed collection for autumn. The continued partnership between Lego and Cartoon Network sees Lego Mixels introduce three new waves of characters throughout the year.

New to Lego Friends are five sets based around the world of pink haired popstar, Livi. SKUs include a Recording Studio, Dressing Room, Limo, Stage Show, Tour Bus. New for 2015, Lego Elves offers a fantastical theme based around normal girl, Emily Jones, who finds herself transported to the magical land of Elves.

With four new sets for 2015 featuring Elsa, Jasmine, Ariel and Sleeping Beauty, the Lego Disney Princess range continues to prove popular.

After a successful launch in 2014, Lego Juniors welcomes a host of new themes for 2015.

This year a contemporary new look will be unveiled for Meccano alongside new parts such as metallic pieces and ergonomically designed tools. A new website will also launch.

The 25 Model Mountain Rally themed set will be TV advertised in the run up to Christmas. It builds 25 models, including a Rally Car and Support Helicopter, and features poseable steering and new flex-panels.

A second Meccano TV campaign will introduce the Meccanoid G15 personal robot. The two foot tall robot is built using the latest Meccano parts and a programming platform called Learned Intelligent Movement (LIM).

Meccanoid uses an on-board ‘Mecca Brain’ and voice recognition to say thousands of phrases, tell jokes, offer facts, play games, initiate conversations and even give a highfive. More complex builds can be created and the Meccanoid pieces are compatible with classic metal Meccano. A larger four foot Meccanoid G15 KS will also be available.

Spin Master will be running a number of Meccano education initiatives throughout the year to deliver the Stem message to children.

Mattel

01628 500 000 | www.mattel.com Mega Bloks continues to show positive momentum as the number two manufacturer within the Building Sets category and number one manufacturer within the Junior Building Sets category, owning nine of the top 20 Junior Building Set lines.

The product range for autumn/winter includes collaborations with brands including Fisher-Price, Thomas & Friends, Barbie, Monster High and Hot Wheels as well as Mega Bloks partnerships including Minions, and the Collector series including Halo.

The popular Mega Bloks First Builders range continues to grow with favourites including the Big Building Bag and Build ’n Learn Table, now complemented by the new offering including the Push ‘n Pull Block Picker. The Mega Bloks Thomas & Friends collection is welcoming the new Zooming Along at Brendam Docks playset featuring a buildable and motorized Thomas engine.

A range of new Mega Bloks Barbie career-themed playsets and figures allow girls to transform Barbie and her workplace, whilst the new Mega Bloks Monster High range including mini-monster playsets and figures features full articulation to hold any pose.

In support of the launch of the Halo 5 video game in October, a range of detailed Mega Bloks Halo figures will bring scenes to life.

Following the Minions movie release, a range of new Mega Bloks Minions construction sets, including over 65 buildable Minion characters, will invite children to play out their favourite adventures of Bob, Dave and Kevin.

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Construction

K’nex

01189 253 270 | www.knex.co.uk At the heart of the K’nex range remains a collection of building tubs and treasure chests with generous piece counts and dozens of building ideas.

The company has launched into the blaster category with the new K-Force range. Leading the line-up is K-Force Dual Cross, a giant blaster bow with 371 pieces and instructions for five custom blaster builds. The launch will be supported by online content, TV advertising, experiential activity at retail and partnership activity with First News, Toxic and Mega.

Also new for 2015, the K’nex Beasts Alive range offers dinosaur and dragon themed construction play. X-Flame has motorised walking and wing movements and three alternate models to build. A partnership with National Geographic Kids magazine will bring the range to life.

The new Mighty Makers range is designed to empower girls through creative and stimulating building ideas. The line encourages girls to explore Stem concepts and careers including aviation, marine biology and architecture. Each Mighty Makers playset includes storybased instructions that allow girls to play out the adventures of the figure included.

K’nex Thrill Rides offers the chance to recreate the fun of a theme park at home with realistic looking, large scale theme park rides at a range of price points.

TV advertising will showcase the range, supported by competitions in children’s press.

K’nex will refresh its licensed ranges in line with gameplay. The portfolio for 2015 includes SuperMario, Mario Kart, Plants vs. Zombies and Titanfall.

Magformers

Engino

07481 155 075 | www.magformers.co.uk

0800 988 7065 | www.enginotoys.co.uk Engino’s new Inventor creative construction series covers cars, motorbikes, aircraft and industrial machines.

Each colour-coded theme has four sets containing multiple model builds.

The standard Inventor series offers boxed sets containing either four, eight, 12 or 16 models.

For those children looking for more ambitious construction projects, the Engino Inventor Motorized range provides a challenge. These models are bigger, more elaborate and incorporate additional technical features. Models are brought to life with the high torque geared motor included, which is also connectable to the Engino solar panel found in other sets.

The patented design of the Engino parts allows connectivity of up to six sides simultaneously, while the extendible components lead to 2D and 3D builds that were previously unthinkable.

The ability of the system to extend and snap-fit on multiple locations while maintaining simple manufacturing methods is a feature that has earned Engino numerous local and international awards.

Across the full Engino range, children can construct simple builds to complex structures, from small 4-in-1 car sets to solar cell and WiFi programmable robotics.

All model assembly instructions can be downloaded for free at www.Engino. com and all product builds can be viewed on mobile devices.

The Magformers magnetic construction toys have experienced success across the USA and Asia and have now launched into the UK. At the core of Magformers are a range of hard, plastic geometric shapes with magnetic sides that always connect and never reject because they contain 360º rotating neodymium magnets.

Children can construct almost anything they can imagine and can transfer 2D planar shapes to different 3D geometric structures.

Magformers are sold in sets, with 21 sets currently available in UK. Each contains a model guide or model cards for inspiration but encourages selfdirected play. All sets have received CE and EN71 certification.

Magformers are designed to enhance children’s core development skills.

They stimulate both sides of the brain to promote balanced growth by encouraging children to use both hands. They also trigger a child’s curiosity, stimulate children’s hand eye coordination and fine motor skills, and encourage logical thinking, reasoning and problem solving skills.

Toy World 40

Construction

John Crane

01604 774 949 | www.john-crane.co.uk Bristle Blocks are easy to connect and children can copy a design from the box or go ahead and create their own construction.

There are many different sets to choose from, including the cases. The Basic Builder Case, a 50 piece set for small jobs; the Big Value Case, a set that comes complete with 85 pieces, or the Deluxe Builder Case with 113 pieces are all available. Each set come in a re-usable storage case with a carry handle.

New for 2015 is the 85 piece Safari Case which comes with basic building blocks as well as safari figurines. As well as the cases, continuing into 2015 are the 56 piece Basic Builder Box and the smaller Basic Build Box which has 36 pieces.

Children can create their own safari park with Jungle Adventures, a 54 piece set that comes complete with a reusable storage tube, or they can pick the bigger Jungle Adventure Bucket, a 128 piece set in a reusable storage bucket.

Other themed sets include the Bristle Blocks Farm Set with 66 pieces for budding young farmers.

Magna-Tiles www. magnatiles.com

Magna-Tiles were invented in 1992 by a Japanese maths teacher. The idea behind the toy is to teach children about shapes through play. The tiles always connect, even when flipped.

Magna-Tiles Ice is a new colour that adds to the clear and solid colours product line. They stay true to the Magna-Tiles form of being 3D design tiles but now are clear and colourless. The new tiles have been designed with sky lights and windows in mind to make children’s constructions more realistic.

The brand has been available in the US since 1997 with distribution in toy stores, educational shops, and school supply companies. Valtech, the company behind Magna-Tiles, is now targeting bricks-and-mortar retailers and school supply companies.

210mm

138mm

Toy World 42

Arckit

contact@arckit.com | www.arckit.com Arckit has launched Arckit Go, a starter set based on the same modular components as the original award-winning system.

An introduction to architectural model building, Arckit Go contains 160+ components to build smaller structures before advancing to the bigger kits or buying additional component packs.

The system itself is based on a 1:48 scale, which is compatible with many other model products such as model vehicles, figurines and furniture. The interconnecting components are completely modular and based on modern panelled building techniques. This allows users to create a diverse range of scaled modern structures that use no glue, can be quickly assembled, endlessly modified and reused. Models can also be completed by applying detailed self-adhesive finishes such as wood flooring, terracotta tiles, stone walls and shingle aluminium.

Arckit Go is also currently being used in education to teach Stem skills. On display at the National Stem Centre in York, the model system is being promoted for classroom use to inspire children and students to learn basic design and construction skills with a system that is affordable, reusable, and can be endlessly modified.

Bizzy Bitz

029 2036 3678 | www.bizzy-bitz.com Bizzy Bitz is a new construction toy consisting of pieces that can be joined together to create a multitude of 3D shapes as well as recognisable and even moving models. There are instruction leaflets to help the child understand how to get started.

Bizzy Bitz is distributed in the UK by Kayes of Cardiff and gives children the freedom to let their imagination go wild as they set about creating different shapes and models, from artistic necklaces to moving vehicles and complicated building structures.

The varied shapes lock together using a simple and patented universal ‘ball and socket’ system.

Created by a family with decades of experience of working with children in the education sector, Bizzy Bitz delivers a complete set of educational values. From a creative and physical development perspective, the range is suitable for all ability levels and enhances fine motor skills, while it also offers the chance for children to develop their problem solving, engineering and emotional skills through play, both alone and with others.

Bizzy Bitz has won awards from the Good Toy Guide, Practical Pre-school, Rainbow Awards and the Creative Play Award.

Toy World 43

Construction

Bigjigs Toys

New from Bigjigs Toys are the wooden Click Blocks.

The 40-piece pack can be added to with the Zesty Basic Pack and Primary Basic Pack, each with a further 20 blocks.

Also new are three sets of Play Planks. Available in natural, marine and sunset colours, these lightweight yet tough little planks can be stacked into all manner of designs.

The Bigjigs Toys My Workbench, My Toolbox and Carpenter’s Workbench all receive a redesign for 2015 with a bright colour scheme.

The Nuts and Bolts pack is now supplied with additional miniature planks. All 20 pieces can be stored in the screw-top container.

DKL’s Wonderworld Trix Tracks gives the original concept of track and balls and marble runs a new lease of life. Its brick locking system makes it stable and each piece is calculated to scale so children can mix the six sets.

Learning Resources

DKL

GP Flair

The Miniland Super Blocks are themed in city and racing track designs and there are four sizes to choose from. The new Miniland Giantte Deco is a giant stacking game formed by 10 small cups in progressive sizes. All the cups fit into each other and the lid has a shape sorting feature.

GP Flair’s WWE Stackdown collection allows children to collect and build their own WWE Universe. They can also disassemble their figures and create their own WWE Superstar mash-up combinations.

This year, the Stackdown Universe has brought single figure foil bags into retailers. Also available are triple figure packs and Brawlin’ Sets which come with two figures and a constructible battle set. With a goodie versus a battle theme running through the series, new sets to collect include the Hulk Hogan Vs. Macho Man and John Cena Vs. The Rock.

Little Tikes

Toy World 44

Learning Resources’ Gears! Gears! Gears! range has a new addition for 2015. The Build and Bloom Building Set encourages creativity and imaginative play as children mix and match gears to create a spinning flower garden.

The set has 115 pieces, including colourful gears, flowers, butterflies, bees, ladybirds, wiggly stems and stickers. The interchangeable parts develop critical thinking skills and can be used with other Gears! Gears! Gears! sets.

Little Tikes’ Big Waffle Blocks can be used for inside or outdoor play. These snap-together oversize waffle blocks can be used for building a fort, castle and anything else that the imagination can create. The unique waffle design allows children to put the blocks together and take them apart over and over.

Construction

Revell

RMS

Toy Essentials

The Revell plastic model kits brand has new releases including the Build & Play Easy Kit cars, as well as new additions to the Star Wars Easy Kit range to coincide with the 2015 movie launch.

The standard Revell model kit range features new releases including the latest in hybrid sports cars, the Porsche 918 Spyder and BMW I8 in 1:24 scale. New aircraft model kits include the Focke Wulf Fw190 F-8 in 1:32 Scale, a BAe Hawk T.1, C-54 Skymaster and an Avro Shackleton all in 1:72 Scale. Fans of military figures can look forward to the 1:72 scale 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo set, while seafarers can enjoy a battle against the elements with the Northsea Fishing Trawler.

RMS will be adding new items to its latest range of construction toys this summer.

The latest products under its First Bricks and Block Tech brands will interlock with other leading block construction brands and cater for children of all ages.

There will be three new products for the First Bricks range in four different sizes available from May which will include a Fire Unit, a Park Pavillion Girls CafĂŠ and a Country Train Set. Two new additions are planned in the coming months for the Block Tech range with more detailed buildings and vehicles sets including the City Streets Police HQ and the Galactic Wars Galactic Defense.

Toy Essentials’ Classic Builder range comprises wooden rods and shapes connected with L-shaped joints. The range includes the Classic Builder Airplane, Helicopter and Motorbike. The models can also be deconstructed and transformed into further structures.

Plastwood is a magnetic construction system that comprises two ranges, Super Maxi and Kliky. SuperMaxi is a kit based on the principle of magnetic rods and spheres.

Kliky is a pre-school range which enables children to safely experience magnetic play. The range offers a choice of models specifically designed to satisfy inquisitive minds and hands, including trains cars and prisms.

arckit.com contact@arckit.com

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ALL

NEW PAW PATROL GAMES

TOP NEW

TV

PRE-SCHOOL PROPERTY*

RESCUE TRAINING CENTRE

TV

CONSTRUCTION BATH TOYS ROLE PLAY

*NPD EPOS VALUE (£) YTD JUNE 2015 © 2014 SPIN MASTER PAW PRODUCTIONS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PAW PATROL AND ALL RELATED TITLES, LOGOS AND CHARACTERS ARE TRADEMARKS OF SPIN MASTER LTD. NICKELODEON AND ALL RELATED TITLES AND LOGOS ARE TRADEMARKS OF VIACOM INTERNATIONAL INC.

Feature

Wheeled toys

Wheel power Following on from last month’s wheeled toys feature for older kids, Daniel Rich explores what the category can offer retailers for younger children, its innovations and why some things remain timeless.

N

HS guidelines recommend that young children that can walk on their own should be physically active every day for at least three hours.

Parents recognise the need to encourage this and wheeled toys are an ideal way to encourage outdoor activity and exercise, while having fun. Learning to ride a bike continues to be a rite of passage, with the adult involvement required bonding parent and child. Wise retailers can capitalise on this by stocking wheeled toys, and various suppliers who spoke to Toy World outlined what they should be aware of in order to get the most out of the category.

MV Sports

Hannah Strohmeier, brand manager at Kiddimoto, explains: “Wheeled toys is a strong category delivering steady growth. The market is constantly evolving with new product development and technology which means stores always have access to the newest and most innovative toys keeping the range fresh for their shoppers. They are also an excellent development toy. For instance, our balance bikes develop basic motor skills, balance and confidence in children. Starting with a balance bike can make learning to ride a bike a much smoother process and making this transition as easy as possible obviously benefits both the parent and child. Our aim is to ensure everyone in the family can enjoy that lovely bike ride on a sunny day as soon as possible.”

A wide range of products within the category make ideal gifts during this pivotal stage in a child’s development and merchandising is key when it comes to maximising sales.

Michelle Lilley, UK marketing manager at Little Tikes, outlines some of the possibilities: “Wheeled toys such as trikes and scooters cover a range of ages and price points; our trikes can be used from nine months and make brilliant first birthday gifts whilst our scooters start from two years of age and are perfect summer toys. Overall, our trikes and scooters are dynamic products and eye catching to have on shelf. Our packaging in particular is colourful, simple and informative. We have content-rich POS which show all the product benefits and create video content which brings the product to life. Where possible we encourage built displays which allow children the chance to try one out.”

Phil Ratcliffe, sales and marketing director at MV Sports, also provides us with an insight into new developments within the category: “Wheeled toys tend to mirror what is hot in toys and other front line licensed products. If a master toy range is flying off the shelves then wheeled toys will follow in the slipstream. We have so much that is new, there are several new Disney ranges including Princess, Star Wars and Avengers, as well as new TV promoted Stunted models. Evergreen licences such as Thomas, Peppa, Fireman Sam and Disney Princess are always strong sellers and provide parents with the confidence to buy; providing years of play value.”

Providing years of play value is also a means of meeting both the parent’s and child’s requirements.

Products that adapt and adjust to correlate with a child’s individual development increases longevity and offer excellent value for money.

Michelle comments: “Our 4-in-1 Trike range continues to be a real success. The design allows the trike to adapt as a child’s skills develop, so it’s suited to their needs at every stage. Plus it’s

Toy World 48

packed with features which parents love such as comfortable wipe clean padded seating, soft safety harness and durable quiet-ride tyres.

“It’s a steady sector in terms of there always being a new audience, but as with any product, innovation remains key. At Little Tikes, product development is a major contributory factor to our success, that’s why we’re building on our 4-in-1 Trike with a new, even more feature-rich 5-in-1 Trike, launching this autumn. This year also saw us bringing new characters to our iconic Cozy Coupe, with the introduction of Cozy Coupe Dino, Ladybird and an updated Patrol Police Car.” With such innovations and new brands entering the market, the category is constantly evolving and companies strive to stand out and offer something new to the consumer.

Hannah observes: “As individual companies grow so will awareness and this is particularly important for the balance bike category. We have already seen massive growth in awareness but there is definitely more education needed to get more people to ditch the stabilisers.”

But where does this leave retailers and indeed the wheeled toys category? Hannah informs me why the future is bright: “The market is looking very healthy. Strong competition between brands is good news for retailers. Companies will be focusing on delivering excellent service to their retailers and ensuring they up their game year on year with marketing, sales and new product development activity. All of this means greater awareness of the products and categories and shiny new stock for stores.”

Ginette McGee, owner of Toytown Seaford, shares her experiences as a retailer stocking the category and offers advice and assurances to fellow shop owners: “We stock a selection of scooters across a variety of price points. Our bestseller is the Little Tikes learn to turn scooter, as it is bright, sturdy, and a name that parents recognise and trust as a quality outdoor brand. For a lower priced option, we have the basic range from Grossman, the My First Scooter and the Nebulus, which sells all year round.

“We also stock a variety of ride on toys, which are popular with parents and grandparents, often as a first birthday gift which will last for use by siblings to come. At the other end of the price bracket, we carry the Whirlee ride-ons from Mookie. Overall, if you have the space, it’s worth having a range of small wheeled toys, with children being encouraged to be active and walk or scoot to school.”

So there it is in a nutshell: why stocking wheeled toys for younger children can only be positive, now it’s time to ditch those stabilisers and turn the page to explore some of the possibilities – you could say it’s as easy as riding a bike.

Learn… Grow… Go! Steer your sales with our brand new Trikes range Our 4-in-1 trikes are: • Designed to develop physical, balancing, and steering skills.

• Adapts from a parent guided stroller to infant powered trike.

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t gh i e w ia n y av ed paig e H Mm Ca

nge of styles a r l l u f r f ro m o u

Visit www.littletikes.co.uk to find out more Call us: 0845 0533 333 | Email us: Little.Tikes@zapf-creation.co.uk MGA Entertainment UK Ltd, 50 Presley Way, Crownhill, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ES

Wheeled toys

MV Sports

01217 488 000 | www.mvsports.co.uk MV’s new Scootcases are available this summer, starting with licences Peppa Pig and Thomas the Tank Engine. They convert from a suitcase to a pull along trolley bag and finally a three wheel scooter. MV will also be expanding the range of Scootcases across its collection of Disney licences, with Disney Princess, Disney Cars and Star Wars available for AW15.

The Sit & Scoot converts from a scooter to a ride-on with a push button twist mechanism and is available across all of the company’s key preschool licences.

Clangers and In the Night Garden are brands that have stood the test of time. The In the Night Garden range features multi character and Iggle Piggle specific wheeled products and will be hitting shelves this AW15. Clangers is also expected to be popular with TV, PR and varied media support.

For 2015, MV’s Disney Princess wheeled toys have been enhanced with features such as tassels, bespoke mouldings and sparkly details.

The company’s Grow & Go range is focused on a parent friendly combination of convertibility and re-configuration which allows each product to adapt to the child’s needs as they grow in confidence. For older boys’ the Stunted range of stunt scooters has been enhanced with the addition of the XTS and XTC top spec scooters for the skate park and the new Voodoo Dirt scooter for off road. Stunted is backed with heavyweight and sustained TV support on both free to air and satellite channels.

Hero product “Our hero product has to be our range of Scootcases. These practical and versatile scooters come complete with an on board travel case/trolley and are perfect for kids on the go whether on holiday or at school. When combined with classic licences such as Thomas, Peppa Pig, Disney Princess, Disney Cars and Star Wars, Scootcases become a highly compelling summer parental purchase.”

Phil Ratcliffe, sales and marketing director

H. Grossman

Bigjigs Toys

The Twist n Trail scooter is a three wheeler that offers stability. It has a rear brake and soft co-ordinating hand grips, the max weight is 20kgs and is available in multi colours and across popular character licenses including Minions.

The Cosmic Light Scooter is designed specifically with the younger child in mind. It has three PU wheels which provide extra balance and stability for the younger kids as they develop coordination and balancing skills. The scooter features a light-up flashing deck in bright colours and can also be used with the lights switched off. It folds flat for easy portability and storage.

My First Scooter is designed to grow with the child and is available in a variety of colourways.

The scooter starts as a sturdy four wheeler and once the child grows in confidence, parents can reduce the scooter to three-wheels and then can progress to two wheels.

The Despicable Me Balance Bike has yellow and blue colouring and the Minions incorporated into the design. The Minions theme continues through a folding scooter for more confident children, a satchel, normal sized skateboard and a three wheeled scooter.

Bigjigs has updated the design of its train ride-on with new colours and detail. The Bigjigs Loco 1 is complete with a shape sorter, train slider and four coloured spinning discs. It encourages and aides children’s mobility and balance.

The company has also updated the design of its wooden horse rideon. It has smooth handles and themed shapes can be placed into the holes on the side.

The shapes can be stored in the saddle bag at the end of a play session.

Other animal-themed ride-ons include a bunny, a patchy cow, a stripy zebra and spotted giraffe. The ride-on range can be used both indoors and outdoors.

01416 132 525 | www.ozbozz.com

01793 461 650 www.bigjigstoys.com

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Wheeled toys

Asobi

01628 200 077 | www.asobi.co.uk Radio Flyer first started in 1917, today Radio Flyer continues to produce safe, quality toys that will undoubtedly spark the imagination of children and inspire active play.

From its original Little Red Wagon to its current wagons, tricycles, scooters and other ride-ons, its toys continue to entertain after 97 years.

Skipper’s new Ride ‘n’ Roll range is made with ergonomic handles for a firm grip, four caster wheels for stability and an easy wipe memory foam seat. It comes packaged in a sturdy cardboard box and is constructed in an open sided shape with carrying handles. The range is suitable from 10 months, easy to build and available in various designs.

HTI

01253 778 888 | www.htigroup.co.uk HTI provides a range of Disney Frozen wheeled toys including a training bike, three wheeled scooters and Move and Groove scooters – ideal first sets of wheels for pre-schoolers. All lines feature brand imagery and graphic artwork.

From the Disney stable, HTI offers Doc McStuffins, Disney Fairies, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Minnie Mouse and Sophia the First wheeled toys and protection gear. Also available are Quad Skates, three wheeled scooters, 10” bikes and pedal-less training bikes.

With adjustable handle bars and seat height, the training bikes can build a child’s confidence to start riding on two wheels alone.

The company’s range of Something Special pre-school wheeled toys features the popular character Mr Tumble who will be recognisable for pre-school children.

Hero product “Our brand new Deluxe 5-in-1 Ride and Relax trike is coming this autumn. Its extra features, including three-position reclining seatback, height adjustment canopy and Perfect Fit Technology, reflect our passion for innovation in this sector of the category. It’s going to be a winner.”

Michelle Lilley, UK marketing manager

Hero product As a child my brother and I used to fight over a plastic car that we had. If only we had two bumper cars like the Ride ‘n’ Roll Bumper Car SKIP0500 with racing stripes to race around the living room, there would have been less tears and more fun. The caster wheels would have been awesome to scoot down the wooden hallway with the kitchen door as the finish line.

Gary Rose, sales and administration

Little Tikes

08450 533 333 | www.littletikes.co.uk Little Tikes is to introduce three new trikes to its range this autumn. The new additions include a 5-in-1 version which has all the features of the 4-in-1 with extras including a three-position reclining seatback, height adjustable canopy and Perfect Fit Technology which means the seat is movable with the flip of a switch.

The company’s existing range has seen major success, with the 4-in-1 Sports Edition Trike which can be used from 9 months onwards. These pink, blue and red trikes are designed to grow as a child’s skills develop. With detachable handle, seat belt, durable tyres, packing bag, soft seating and drinks holder, the trike is ideal for beginners.

Toy World 52

award-winning wooden and metal balance bikes for 2 years +

for more information or to order, speak to Ian or Nikki on 01749 871175. full range can be seen on www.kiddimoto.co.uk.

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Wheeled toys

DKL

re:creation

01604 678 780 | www.dkl.co.uk

01189 736 222 | www.recreationltd.co.uk This summer, Razor Junior’s Lil’ Crazy is to be released for pre-schoolers. It follows the popularity of the award-winning Crazy Cart for older children and adults. This electric ride-on can reach speeds of up to 2mph and enables pre-schoolers to spin, drift and turn 360 degrees.

Also offering a pre-schooler take on a Razor success story under the Razor Junior banner is the Mini Mod, based on the popular Pocket Mod electric ride-on.

This retro themed ride can reach speeds of up to 2mph and is available in pink and green colourways.

For children aged five and upwards, the Party Pop scooter includes a light up deck. re:creation will support the Razor brand with extensive TV and a wide reaching PR programme and social media activity throughout the second half of the year.

Kiddimoto

Miniland Educational’s Large Plastic Vehicles range includes the Monster Truck which doubles up as a sit and ride toy when the dumper is flipped backwards. The truck is suitable for indoors and outdoors.

Wonderworld is a range of wooden toys made with an eco-friendly policy. The products are made from rubber-wood and packaged in material which is over 70% recycled.

The Red Buggy Car has reinforced wheels and an easy to manoeuvre handle bar. The Recycling Truck and Fire Engine have storage space and the Puffy Dragon can double up as a toy when the detachable dragon is lifted off its wheels. These ride ons are sturdy enough for indoor and outdoor play.

Flying Gadgets

01749 871 175 | www.kiddimoto.co.uk Kiddimoto’s balance bikes enable young children to get on two wheels and learn to ride. The bikes are available in a range of designs.

The Kurve comes in a variety of colours and designs for both girls and boys. Bikes in the range include the Pastel Dotty Kurve, the Union Jack Kurve and the Police and Fire Kurve.

The Super Junior and Super Junior Max balance bikes are lightweight and ideal first metal bikes for young children.

The Marc Marquez bike from the Kiddimoto Heroes range has been designed in partnership with the Spanish Grand Prix Motorcycle champion.

0844 209 2626 | www.flyinggadgets.com Flying Gadgets is enjoying success with its expanding range of licensed ride-on vehicles and has brought the F380 Broon to the UK. The F380 Broon boasts fully integrated touchscreen tablet controls and multiple driving modes.

The company’s licensed ride-on cars include the Beetle, Bugatti, Porsche and Aston Martin and each feature a 6V or 12V battery, seat belt and a parental remote control for safety. They also feature authentic ignition and engine sounds, steering wheel sounds on turns, a horn and working lights so children get a realistic driving experience.

Hero product The Kiddimoto Pastel Dotty Kurve tops the list and is our official top seller.

Its beautiful design with matching helmet and gloves make it a winner from top to toe. The Kurve bike has become incredibly popular with its top quality craftsmanship, wooden frame and eye catching designs.

Hannah Strohmeier, brand manager

Toy World 54

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The year so far…

In this month’s edition of Touching Base, Emily Ansell Elfer speaks to companies about the year so far, their plans for the second half and the challenges that lie ahead.

Worlds Apart

Cheatwell Games

Vance Withers

Mark Jones

It’s been both an interesting and positive start to the year for Cheatwell Games as we aim to return the business to its roots and bring fun games and puzzles to the market place that offer great value for money and the opportunity for people to sit down, move away from our iPads and games consoles and have great fun with our family and friends.

We’re bringing out 30 new lines in the second half of 2015 which will include the brand new explosive Fart card game that will sit perfectly next to our top selling Plop Trumps. With families in mind we shall be offering two great traditional favourites for Christmas in Charades and Kids Charades. We are also just launching a brand new range of dinosaur themed products which tie in nicely with the launch of the new Jurassic Park film. These include building kits for a wooden Velociraptor or a cardboard 3D T-Rex. As a small business which doesn’t necessarily have the budget for big TV campaigns, the challenge is to increase the consumers’ brand awareness in 2015 and we have partnered with a fantastic PR company, Smallman Media, to help us to achieve this. We are working hard through social media channels and other areas to make sure Cheatwell Games is recognised for offering games and puzzles that are great quality and great value products that people come back to year after year. We also want to make sure the recognition continues to grow in the latter half of the year.

Click Distribution Mark Hillier

The first half of the year has been really positive for us with good sales across a wide range of products.

We have plenty of new launches for the second half. They start now with the launch of Minions Bumpeez, Trading Cards and Stickers collection. Then it’s into the Back to School/autumn period with Match Attax (the biggest selling collectible in the UK), Minecraft Buildables and a whole range of Star Wars products to mention just a few.

I think our biggest challenge this year is logistical, we need more space.

Toy World 56

We’ve experienced a mixed performance over the first half of the year. Growth has remained strong in some channels, whilst others have struggled against a backdrop of high stocks, weak licence performance and reducing returns from tried and tested promotions. However, a sense of optimism remains, and with the new movies hitting our screens this summer, and subsequent new ranges, we are forecasting an increase in demand.

We are investing heavily in a number of areas in the second half of the year, from the re-launch of DreamTown to driving growth of hot licences on key Worlds Apart products.

DreamTown is an integral part of our 2015 commercial plan and we’re really encouraged by the level of support from our customer base. DreamTown was tremendously successful (and award-winning) when we launched back in 2007 and the early signs are indicating a repeat of this success. Our new Rose Petal Cottage, along with the range of accessories, is currently on pre-sell and hits the shelves in July.

We have new GoGlow Pals featuring Olaf, Darth Vader and R2D2 also launching in the second half of the year, along with a new range of Minions products that capture consumer interest following the film release.

Our new GetGo Ugo Play Tents are seeing increasing sales across the trade, and we are launching a new range of Tech 4 Kids micro lites. The new micro lites will sit across a wide range of licences, including Ironman, Shopkins, Frozen and Minions.

We have a strong programme of Black Friday and promotional offers across all channels. All in all, we have a very busy programme ahead of us.

The biggest challenge for the second half of the year will be making sure our stock is in the right place to maximise sales. Whilst demand builds, we must make sure our stock in store is kept to a minimum. We’re also holding out for Star Wars sales, which will be late due to the launch date of the film.

Tomy

DKL

Fredrik Wolff

David Allan I am pleased to report that sales are up on last year, especially with the introduction of new ranges Breyer and Scentco which have helped us open new markets and retailers for all our ranges.

DKL’s business is constantly growing with new launches and support for retailers which includes promotions, offers, good product and good margin. We will launch three new ranges in the second half of 2015 to help grow business in other sectors.

As a distributor, one of the biggest challenges is second guessing retailers’ requirements. Many are buying little and often which makes managing stock crucial.

Kiddimoto Simon Booth

It’s been a pretty strong year for us. It started slower than usual but really picked up in March; there’s been a sort of rollercoaster effect. We are way ahead of where we were last year and we have some great new products as well as more people on the ground. I think the nice weather has helped create some really positive momentum. We have some fantastic new products lined up for the second half, the Goggle Helmet has been recognised by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the company recently picked up The Queen’s Award for Enterprise – that’s one of the biggest accolades that the business has ever achieved and I’m really proud of everyone involved. It shows how much we can achieve when we work together as a team.

The first half of the year has been a period of change, progress and some great wins in the market place.

There’s been change in terms of establishing the new management team and defining the strategy and priorities for the coming period and progress in terms of what we are delivering in the market. While we have had strong initiatives in the market since January, we have spent a lot of time preparing for even bigger initiatives to be launched for A/W and onwards. I am particularly pleased with the success we have seen on Pop-Up Olaf, we are getting some great wins on our Impulse range and Pokemon is back into growth. We have just started to ship our great toy range for the Pixar property Inside Out where Tomy has the master toy licence, which we have great expectations for over the summer and into A/W. We are getting great support from our retail partners and we are excited about what this will do over the coming months.

We have a very busy six months ahead of us. We are launching a lot of strong initiatives with great marketing support. Overall, Tomy is more than doubling the marketing investments in the UK in 2015, most of which we will benefit from August onwards. As mentioned, we have great expectations behind Inside Out and, just in time for the Christmas period, we are launching the toy range for the second Pixar property, The Good Dinosaur.

This is definitely one of our big bets for the coming year(s), and again, our retail partners see the great potential of Disney + Pixar + Dinosaurs and toys. We are working closely with Disney to ensure this gets the big presence it deserves, and all indicators are looking good. We are expecting further growth on Pokemon and we are launching a whole new action figure range and new additions to role-play. This property is getting hotter and hotter and we believe there is great potential here. Sonic Boom will start to air on Boomerang in June and we are launching our toy range in conjunction with this and early indications are that we are onto a winner. We are also putting a lot of effort in our Tomy Infant, Toddler and Bath range and we are launching some true gems in this range. The Discovery Balloon and Foam Cone Factory will be our TV lines for Christmas and we are confident that these are future classics and great additions to our range.

With all we have going on, our key challenge will be executing all of this with excellence in order to maximise these opportunities together with our partners. We do have strong retail plans and I am confident we are in for a great time with stronger than ever initiative pipeline and marketing support.

The retail space will be busy with many launches towards Christmas, however our aim is coming into the New Year having executed all of our priorities with excellence and created lots of sales for our partners. We are definitely excited about the months to come.

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Feature

Role Play and Dress-up

Behind the disguise The children’s dress-up and role play categories offer a wealth opportunities for retailers with both licensed and own brand products performing well. Emily Ansell Elfer reports.

R

ole play and children’s dress-up are timeless categories in the UK and international toy market. Every adult remembers playing house as a child or dressing up as a princess, hero or their favourite character. Today’s children are no different, but there are more licensing opportunities for retailers as well as a couple of challenges being brought about by the digital world.

David Wootliff, commercial director at Rubie’s Masquerade UK, says the company aims to inspire customers by offering high quality items that are on trend. Rubie’s also offers a range of marketing support for its products – from heavyweight TV advertising with integrated digital campaigns through to bespoke point of sale and in store support for independent customers.

“We are continually looking at new ideas, innovation and print technology to improve our product range. Our team of designers are looking for inspiration in our core category, working with retail teams here in the UK and investigating the worlds of toy and apparel, looking for that next product or idea that can inspire a child to wear a Rubie’s costume,” says David.

“We hope that we create products that inspire our consumer, that the product is on trend, manufactured to a high quality and, where licensed, that the property is relevant and creates a desire to dress up with today’s demanding consumer.”

According to David, the main challenges facing the sector at the moment are online-based companies offering low cost items and companies providing substandard products.

He says: “Obviously the rise of the internet has provided a wider selling platform that seems to benefit the consumer but, at times, it seems to be a race to the bottom in terms of how product is priced. Another big challenge is the continued growth of counterfeit, inspired by and grey market costumes in the UK and how they are undermining legitimate licensed business.”

A company offering something a bit different to the dress-up category is Star Cutouts which provides a range of licensed masks that enable children to instantly transform into their favourite character.

Sales manager James Purcell says the company’s products stand out because they offer quick dress-up solutions for children’s parties: “The party sector is an enormous market, with the next party always trying to be better than the last. The age of social media and instantaneous uploading of photos to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, makes our products the ideal addition to any party to create a buzz,” he comments.

However, like David at Rubie’s, James sees the internet as a challenge as well as a blessing.

“The likes of the big online sales platforms Amazon and eBay are a real threat to the RSP of all products and have seen a race to the bottom in terms of retail

pricing,” he comments. “We have also seen the misuse of automatic pricing software that some sellers use and do not seem to monitor, with the end result being the price integrity of the product being damaged and, moreover, taking the margin out of the sales in a bid to be the cheapest available.”

James believes it is important to promote products and keep them fresh in such a competitive market.

“The internet, with all its technical wizardry, can show the products very well to a massive market when it is done well. We invest heavily in the new licences that we acquire and develop. We are always looking for the new characters and products that have both mass and a more niche appeal. We are always updating the range of products that we have available, making full use of our full-time in-house design team and licensing director.”

Looking at the overall role play category, it’s clear to see that it’s a stable and reliable sector. The basis of role play toys has always been to allow children to replicate what they see in everyday life or what they see in the TV programmes and films they watch.

Sarah Holden, HTI’s marketing communications manager, says: “HTI’s role play toys portfolio offers great product with brand relevance and innovative features, fantastic play value, superb quality and the best brands.

The best licensed role play toys are truly relevant to the licence brand. It’s not enough to take a generic play theme toy and add the brand logo – children want role play toys that are based around key storylines, activities or themes that are associated with a particular brand.”

Sarah stresses that unique tooling will ensure that a toy is absolutely exclusive to a brand. By being brand relevant and fun, licensed role play toys will engross children in the world of their favourite licensed brands and characters: “For example, Peppa Pig programming regularly shows her in the family’s kitchen – what could be better than a kitchen that is completely designed to replicate the kitchen featured in the TV series, with character moulding, realistic sound effects and the instantly recognisable theme tune?” she explains.

A challenge that the role play sector faces is that all products need to be of an exceptional quality and be able to withstand the rigorous demands of young children. Larger items, such as kitchens and work benches, can be difficult to display in store and need to be packed into as small a box as possible to ensure mass distribution.

Sarah says that, although it can be tricky for retailers with a small floor space, it is worth assembling larger products so that customers can really see what they’re buying: “This can help purchasers to appreciate the scale and quality of the product and appeal to the children.”

Michelle Lilley, marketing manager at Little Tikes, says product innovation is highly important for all brands looking to make a mark in the role play sector.

She told Toy World: “At Little Tikes we have a wide range which has mass appeal; our products have

Toy World 60

Rubie’s

innovative and fun features and a good mix of price points which means there is something for everyone. We aim to create products which meet our customer’s needs – for example, parents told us they didn’t want products which take hours to assemble or take up lots of room in the house. We responded by launching items such as our new Cook n’ Store Kitchen which comes fully assembled and folds up for easy storage.”

Like Sarah, Michelle stresses the benefits of showcasing products in store and allowing children to play with them there and then.

“In a crowded market, it’s important to appeal to both the child and the parent. In store merchandising needs to be colourful and eye catching – plus we like to have a product for children to play with, if space allows,” she explains.

“We will continue to be forward-thinking, developing products which match our customers’ lifestyles, whilst encouraging individual development and creativity in their children. We will also continue to ensure our role play items follow trends and reflect real life innovations – this means we have lots of exciting launches ahead.”

Over the next couple of pages, Toy World presents a variety of products from companies working in the children’s dress-up and role play categories.

Role Play and Dress-up

HTI

01253 778 888 | www.htigroup.co.uk HTI will be TV advertising three new role play toys in 2015 which will also be supported by integrated marketing and PR activities. The Disney Frozen Colour Match Snowflake Bag can change colour to match over 100 different colours.

Also TV advertised in 2015, the My Little Pony Rainbow Dash Style n Groom is a full body, 3D sculpt of the character with a long mane of multicoloured hair. It comes with styling accessories that can be used on the pony and also the girls themselves.

HTI provides Mamas & Papas and Silver Cross Junior collections for the dolls prams and pushchairs market. The new M&P Armadillo pushchair is TV advertised.

The company offers an extensive selection of Peppa Pig role play toys and dolls prams. Based on Peppa Pig’s own kitchen from the TV series, the new one metre tall floor-standing multi-feature House Kitchen includes a fully accessible fridge, cooker, rotating hob/toaster, pan with flipping pancake, cooking and food accessories as well as realistic electronic cooking sounds and the Peppa “With Disney’s exciting announcement about the forthcoming Frozen 2 movie sequel and their Pig theme tune. strategic ongoing brand marketing support, HTI’s Disney Frozen Colour Match Snowflake Bag is With the Minions blockbuster due to hit cinema sure to light up Christmas sales in more ways than one.” screens this summer, HTI will be launching two Andrea Lenehan, girls brand manager Minions Character Cases. Both are full of role play contents – for Bob it’s all about catching bananas using the banana grabber, whilst Stuart is all about making music with a banana-shaped harmonica, a mini ukulele and a maraca.

Hero product

Rubie’s Masquerade 08453 070 707 | www.rubiesuk.com

New lines from Rubie’s include additions to its licensed Frozen costumes in the shape of a premium range of Elsa and Anna dresses with a more luxurious feel and detailed features. The company will also be introducing two new designs of Coronation Elsa and Anna.

The company is expanding its existing Minions costume range with the introduction of Minions kids’ costumes for boys and girls including a Minions Dracula for Halloween.

The company’s ever-popular super hero ranges continue to grow with new DC-licensed costumes of Batman, Superman and The Flash in the shape of a new Comic Book range evoking the look of the characters as seen in DC Comics, as well as a new Catwoman costume for girls.

Following the success of the recent Marvel Avengers: Age Of Ultron movie, Rubie’s new range of Marvel-licensed dress-up has sold well, helped by a feature wall in Toys “R” Us, and Rubie’s wider Marvel-licensed range will see a new addition to tie in with the next in the series of films from Marvel Studios; Ant-Man, released this month.

Other super heroes getting a refresh will be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costumes which will have a brand new look to its printed jumpsuits, while Buzz Lightyear will get a new Deluxe costume.

Rubie’s will also be introducing an entirely new range of dress-up for pre-school children based on the canine heroes from Paw Patrol, with costumes of Marshall, Skye and Chase.

Hero product “Ant-Man is a new super hero to add to our Marvel dress-up range. It is being launched to tie in with the new movie, which is looking like it could be another surprise hit for Marvel Studios like Guardians of the Galaxy was last year. The costume with padded jumpsuit and mask looks great, as does the movie, so we’re hoping both will do well.”

Struan Robertson, trade marketing and digital manager

Toy World 62

Role Play and Dress-up

Casdon

01253 608 428 | www.casdon.co.uk Role play goes hand in hand with favourite licences at Casdon with big brands such as Dyson, Morphy Richards and DeLonghi.

Casdon combines pretend play with household names to bring replica kitchen appliances and role play accessories to the play room.

Little shoppers can have fun with supermarket tills, shopping baskets, shopping trollies and more. The hero of the range is a Self-Service Supermarket complete with auto till and pay point.

New for 2015 to the Little Cooks collection are the Annabel Karmel toy baking accessories.

Offering real life baking as opposed to role play, there’s everything a Casdon Little Cook could need including mixing bowl and utensils, cookie cutters and cake tins to create real and edible treats, plus an icing set.

The Little Cook collection is a firm favourite and houses instantly recognisable home items.The Morphy Richards Kitchen Set includes appliances with contemporary styling such as a toaster, kettle and fillable coffee maker plus a host of crockery and cutlery. The DeLonghi Microwave has a rotating turntable, flashing lights and cooking sounds to help cook treats at home.

The Little Helper range includes Dyson uprights or Hetty and Henry vacuums.

Little Tikes

Peterkin

The Cook n’ Store Kitchen from Little Tikes is available in red and pink. It comes fully assembled and folds up for easy storage.

A carbon copy of mum and dad’s kitchen at home, it includes a stove top and clicking knobs, spinning shelves and 34 accessories including plates, cups, cutlery, pans, cooking utensils and play goods and spices, all of which fold away.

New from Little Tikes this summer is the Sizzle n’ Serve Grill. Its features include a lid, 12 accessories, wheels and easy assembly.

Liontouch active fantasy toys represent a classic and yet modern play experience. The toys have elaborate, intricate illustrations to entice children to play out their fantasies whilst parents can be assured that safety has been made the highest priority.

Liontouch has paid strict attention to every aspect of design – children will find battle scars on the shields and feathering of the sword’s tip. Features such as the effect of sun streaming down on a shield from above breathe life into a toy, which in turn adds a little extra to the experience of the young knight or princess.

0800 521 558 | www.littletikes.co.uk

0116 254 3645 | www.peterkin.co.uk

Star Cutouts

0161 3445839 | www.starcutouts.com Star Cutouts provides an extensive range of masks available at pocket money prices. The masks allow children to become their favourite character instantaneously.

The company has invested heavily in its licences and the next phase of licensed characters includes Marvel The Age of Ultron, DreamWorks How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Finn and Jake from Adventure Time.

The masks are made in the factory in the UK, with point of sale solutions available to suit retailers’ space. From a spinner to hold 25 separate lines, in a retail footprint of 60cm x 60cm and at a height of 190cm tall, to a counter top display box that fits 35 single masks with a tiny footprint of 26cm x 10cm.

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Role Play and Dress-up

Character Options

Bigjigs

0161 633 9800 | www.character-online.co.uk

01793 461 650 | www.bigjigstoys.com Joining Bigjigs for 2015 is the 51cm high Market Stall with removable stripy canvas awning and eight sections for role play foods, separated by removable wooden dividers. The range of Bigjigs role play foods and award-winning Shop Till with Scanner can be added to this item.

The Bigjigs Cooking & Roleplay collection includes single foods items, tea and baking sets, kitchen appliances, shops and food accessories. These food items and accessories can be used as props to educate about healthy eating.

DKL

01604 678 780 | visit www.dkl.co.uk The role play range from Wonderworld has been strengthened this year with the addition of new and updated kitchen sets. The collection includes a Cooker & Stove, a Sink, a Washing Machine, a Little Chef Station and a Refrigerator – all of which are made from durable rubber-wood.

Wonderworld also has a selection of accessories.

The Fruit and Veggie baskets come with six food items which can be cut and stuck back together and the Wonder Cash Register features a real calculator and toy money.

Role play with DKL’s Corolle dolls is made easy by the brand’s offering of accessories including the Stroller and Baby Cradle, the Pacifiers Set and Bath Accessories Set.

Character Options’ Fireman Sam range of role play items include the Helmet with Sound and Utility Belt with Jacket and Accessories.

New for summer 2015 are the Fireman Sam Rescue Scissors.

GP Flair 0208 643 0320 | sales@flairplc.co.uk

Flair’s Frozen Magic Ice sleeve allows children to slip a silk sleeve and glittered bracelet on to their arm and become Elsa.

It comes with a can of ice spray and a refillable water bottle attachment.

The company’s Doc Mcstuffins accessories include Dottie’s Eye Doctor Bag, the new Vet Bag Playset and the Pet Vet Desk.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles role play collection includes Ninja Combat Gear and Masks for each of the four brothers. The new World of Warriors Battle Gear is made up of soft masks and weapons of the hero warriors.

Maps Toys

01483 776 006 | www.mapstoys.com The durable Aeromax range is popular with space fanatics and the Get Real Gear range is an authentic-looking astronaut costume, available in both orange and white. It features an official NASA embroidered patch, decals, buckles and zips as well as a matching astronaut’s NASA cap. The costume is complemented by accessories to extend role-playing possibilities. The range has proved successful and the costume has been incorporated into Specsavers and Aldi advertising campaigns.

The Youth Space Helmet can enhance other outfits. It can be combined with the astronaut costume with the Talking Space Helmet, Astronaut Space Backpack Water Blaster and Inflatable Space Shuttle. There is also a Super Soaking Fire Hose with Backpack.

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LIONTOUCH Available from Peterkin Highest quality EVA foam

Peterkin UK Ltd - 85, Commercial Square - Leicester. LE2 7SR Phone: 0116 254 3645 - Fax: 0116 247 0618 Email: sales@peterkin.co.uk - Web: www.peterkin.co.uk LIONTOUCH© by Visiodan A/S

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LIONTOUCH© by Visiodan A/S © Visiodan All rights reserved www.Liontouch.com Strandvejen 171, 1 • DK-2900 Hellerup • Tel.: +45 39 62 39 44 • Fax: +45 39 62 39 84 • Info@Liontouch.com •

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Role Play and Dress-up

Golden Bear

01952 608 308 | www.goldenbeartoys.com The new Mr Tumble Hand Puppet enables children to put on their own Something Special show. It comes complete with Mr Tumble’s spotty bow tie and trademark waistcoat, as well as embroidered facial detail and tactile materials.

The company’s Sooty collection includes replica Sooty, Sweep and Soo Hand puppets as well as the Pop-Up Sooty Puppet show. Featuring Sooty’s own puppeteer box, the show enables Sooty to pop out of the box with his magic wand and water gun. Also available is the Sooty and Sweep Hand Puppet Set.

Worlds Apart

0800 389 8591 | www.worldsapart.com DreamTown returns to toy aisles this August with the new look Rose Petal Cottage. It features an opening door with letter box, opening shutters, a working shelf, a mirror and a real photo frame for pictures.

It also comes with a cooker including twisting dials and an opening oven door.

Also available are coordinating accessory sets to decorate the cottage. The Rose Petal Kitchen set includes a sink unit with chromelook twisting taps and a washing machine with opening door and twisting dials for realistic role-play. The Rose Petal Tea Time set features an inflatable table and two stools.

LeapFrog

01895 202 840 | www.leapfrog.com The Musical Rainbow Tea Party features a light-up teapot. With over 50 songs and phrases which teach manners and greetings, it helps to build key motor skills with 10 play pieces, including tea cups, cake slices, a cake plate and the teapot.

The Mobile Med Kit helps prepare little ones for real medical check-ups.

Children are encouraged to roll the ambulance and press the siren which prompts songs, such as Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, as well as phrases that teach about health and hygiene.

The Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket features over 30 audio responses, allowing little ones to pretend play and share a picnic with their friends.

The picnic basket contains 14 individual picnic necessities, including sandwiches, fruit and colourful cups.

Hasbro

0208 569 1234 | www.hasbro.co.uk The Marvel Avengers Iron Man Arc FX Armour includes two gloves and one is equipped with a repulsor light and sound effects that make children sound like the invincible Iron Man. The Hulk Gamma Grip Fists can be put on each hand to grip, grab and smash.

The Marvel Avengers Thor Lightning Strike Hammer includes crackling lightning storm and crashing thunder sounds.

The Marvel Avengers Captain America Star Launch Shield looks just like the patriotic super-soldier’s indestructible shield but launches discs from the star in the middle when the rip cord is pulled.

Toy World 68

Pioneer Europe/ Qualatex 01279 501090

Pioneer Balloon Company, maker of Qualatex brand balloons, is expanding its licensed product lineup with the addition of Star Wars latex and Bubble Balloons.

Pioneer has introduced two different Star Wars themed Bubble Balloons with designs based on the classic Star Wars and Star Wars Rebels (cartoon version). The classic design is also available in three different sizes of latex balloons: 5” and 11” rounds, and 12” Quick Links. This variety increases the possibilities for large-scale balloon decorations such as arches, garlands, and walls.

Coming soon is the Star Wars Double Bubble with a classic design and a Single Bubble balloon for the new Star Wars 7 movie, coming to UK cinemas in December 2015.

Founded in 1917, Pioneer Balloon Company is the world’s premier manufacturer of latex balloons, with a diversified range of products that includes Microfoil balloons and Bubble Balloons.

ToyWorldJuly15Final.pdf

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Feature

Educational

Knowledge is power Toy World’s Daniel Rich takes a look at the educational toys category and explores the role companies play in ensuring products are fun, fresh and funky but also beneficial to a child’s development.

E

very toy retailer is visited at some point by a parent or relation who wants their child to have an enjoyable learning experience from specifically designed products in order to support, aid and supplement their education. Stocking the category can provide retailers with strong, reliable and repeat sales from carefully designed product ranges.

Simon Prest, sales director at Orchard Toys, gives me the lowdown: “Parents who buy educational toys for their children not only appreciate the benefits to their child’s development, but they also generally embark on a journey which involves further purchases of educational toys, to support that development. It therefore stands to reason that a retailer who stocks educational toys has the potential to engage with customers over a long period of time and through multiple purchases, rather than on the basis of a oneoff, impulse buy.”

Simon believes an element of enjoyment should be present within the category for a product to be a success: “Real focus on teaching a particular skill is important, but it’s essential that the child is having fun whilst playing the game or building the jigsaw too. It is also vital that the product has shelf appeal, through engaging images and colourful design, not to mention that it should represent value.”

Joanne Moore, educational product development co-ordinator at Learning Resources, adds: “Parents value products that are both entertaining and have added educational value. Toys and games that encourage early development skills are in high demand both in and out of the classroom, so this presents retailers with the opportunity to support quality learning experiences whilst children have fun with play.”

Joanne goes on to explain what it takes for an educational product to perform strongly in today’s market and how meeting current national curriculum requirements increases popularity among consumers.

She says: “The strong sellers in the educational toys category are toys that encourage multiple developmental skills, have multi-level options and keep children engaged by allowing them to feel a sense of achievement. This year our new maths game, Top of the Tables, is performing strongly. This football themed game is for two players with the objective to shoot and score whilst practicing times tables. We believe that this has become a strong seller due to the change in the national curriculum as it meets the requirements that Year 4 maths pupils should be taught to recall multiplication and division facts.” Meanwhile, Nick Saunders, sales and marketing director at Brainstorm, draws attention to keeping up to date with popular trends and incorporating them into an educational product to boost popularity: “It’s certainly the year for dinosaur toys and we’re prepared with our T Rex

Learning Resources

Projector and Room Guard. The Jurassic series from Aqua Dragons is selling very well. In fact we’ve edited a new Jurassic themed Aqua Dragons TV advert that will air in July.”

Nick explains what he looks for to ensure a successful product: “When we plan our own developments we look for longevity in the item or the licence. We want the product to be relevant in the long term and we see that from our best selling items where our volumes continue to grow even if they were launched some time ago. We prefer to have a belief in the idea and invest well in a good product and promotion.”

Monitoring such trends means children’s everchanging demands are met, yet the sector as a whole is stable as the focus remains the same.

“As an ex-teacher, and within my role of educational specialist, I constantly monitor trends and changes within the national curriculum to ensure that we are supplying new and innovative products that meet our consumer’s needs. The importance of hands-on play and developing key skills is a consistent factor within the educational toys sector which keeps it steady,” confirms Joanne.

The National Curriculum is an important factor in the development of companies’ products and has a massive influence on product development, Nick explains the measures taken to keep abreast of these: “All of our products are designed with support from educational advisors, teachers and early years professionals and the majority are linked to the National Curriculum. By getting this right at the design stage, we give consumers the confidence to buy products that they know will really help with their child’s development.”

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David Allen, sales and marketing director at DKL, offers me his perspective of the educational toy market this year and how its demands are met: “Judging by our growing social media following and interaction, together with record sales, I believe that consumers are looking for educational products more and more. Parents want to assist the education of their child and retailers are reacting to this demand. The more a product can relate to the National Curriculum the better, as parents and children can relate to the work that a child is doing at school.”

David explains how the further emergence of technology will offer fresh opportunities but, despite its popularity, traditional educational toys prove timeless and will have a place on shelves alongside their hi-tech counterparts for many years to come: “There is more technology coming into the sector at the higher price points as children look to touchscreen toys and so on.

However, hands on learning is still very important to a child’s development.

“Magnetic Letters always sell well but lacing kits have that extra value of making letters and numbers with plenty of templates and cards with each kit. Our Activity Timer comes with a clock and activity cards so children can plan their day. New products include large nuts and bolts and the Mobile Maths Kit which uses cars and roadways to improve maths skills.”

So what does the future hold? Joanne looks ahead: “I am encouraged by the feedback that we are continually receiving from parents, teachers and the press, for the educational value of our products. The educational toy market is growing and I believe will continue to grow in line with parents wanting more added value in products that educate as well as entertain.”

Educational

Brainstorm

01200 445 113 | www.brainstormltd.co.uk The Geode Discovery Kit allows children to break open real geodes to reveal crystals inside. The kit contains two different kinds of geode, so that kids can compare different crystal formations. A secret code to unlock online bonus information, safety goggles and a display stand are also included.

New to the range of Brainstorm Toys Globes is the illuminated Moon Globe. The 22.8cm Globe displays a map of the Moon including sites of the Moon landings. At night the Globe lights up to become a room decoration and night light.

The Brainstorm Toys Outdoor Adventure range has two new additions; the Creepy Crawly Catcher and the Night Vision Torch. The Creepy Crawly Catcher features the patented Spider Catcher, a bug catch jar, magnifier and practice bugs. Also included is a booklet containing bug record sheets and a secret code to unlock online bonus information.

The Night Vision Torch has a bright red light, which preserves natural night vision. It can be used for night hikes and map reading and is complete with a glow in the dark on-off button, belt clasp and anti-roll feature.

The Shark Torch and Projector is a photo projector “From the Brainstorm Toys range, our hero product is definitely the T Rex Projector and Room with 24 colour images. Each image can be projected Guard; 2015 pre-sales are fantastic and we plan to TV advertise in the fourth quarter. Customers up to one metre wide. Features 15 different types of keep telling us this is the year for dinosaurs and this item is a great educational gift.� shark and eight images dedicated to the Great White.

Nick Saunders, sales and marketing director Batteries included.

Hero product

DKL

01604 678 780 | www.dkl.co.uk The Miniland range includes the Educational Corner collection of toys which is designed for learning and skill development. Each Educational Corner toy includes a worksheet to guide parents and teachers through the skills which can be learned through play.

The educational kits are packaged in a suitcase with colourful designs and teach skills ranging from learning to tell the time to hand-eye coordination. The Activity Timer helps children learn the evolution of time with activity cards which relate time to daily activities.

Activity Buttons is a lacing kit that promotes fine motor skills and colours and numbers. The lacing buttons also feature braille characters for children who are partially sighted or blind to learn from.

Elsewhere in the range are the electronic science kits which offer real working parts including light bulbs, motors and magnets. Electrokit 88 allows children to trial 88 different experiments with the aid of an instruction booklet, whilst the Electrocombi 49 can be used to create a moving car or boat.

To accompany the educational toys, there is the new Play Miniland collection of digital resources. The free resources are available for both teachers and parents to use alongside a Miniland toy. Play Miniland bridges the gap between lessons learnt at school and skills learnt through play in a home environment.

GP Flair

02086 430 320 | sales@flairplc.co.uk The Thomas and Friends collection consists of seven wooden games. The wooden dominoes and track puzzle has 28 dual-sided dominoes and four engine pieces. Children can either play the traditional game matching the images or turn the pieces over to create a wooden train track for a different experience. The range also includes a sorting box, Tic-Tac-Toe, a wooden clock game, hammer and peg and block cart toys.

The Wild! Science range allows kids to learn using chemistry and the science of polymers whilst making zombie eyeballs, with zombie blood and guts. They can explore pigments, and multiple stage embedding whilst making soap creations with Soap Studio Ocean Friends.

IDO3D is a pen that allows children to draw in 3D. It contains a patented compound in a range of colours which allows kids to transform 2D templates to 3D multi-colour masterpieces. The UV light included sets the ink in seconds and allows kids to draw straight in the air. The 3D Deluxe Design studio has eight different coloured 3D pens, 3D printing accessories and a guide book with templates to make 40 projects. Other price points begin with the IDO3D starter sets with individual themes or single pens in a range of colours.

Toy World 72

M4630 UK_ToyWrld_July AD5_HI.pdf

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Get set for summer with Koala Capers

& Raccoon Rumpus ! ™

EI-1732

Koala Capers™

Games of colour, matching and patterns!

EI-1734

Raccoon Rumpus™

For more information call Aleks Wojcieszak on 01553 819383

The home of

The Brand Teachers Trust™

™

Educational

Learning Resources 01553 819 386 | www.learningresources.co.uk

Learning Resources has a variety of games to keep children entertained and learning over the summer. This year the company has seen a new addition to its early skills games range with The Koala Capers Pattern Game. This addition complements The Raccoon Rumpus Colour Game providing an engaging way for children to build pattern recognition and observation skills whilst helping the Koala Capers family dress for their holiday travels.

Supporting key early skills, Learning Resources’ varied game play range will keep children’s hands and minds active during the school break. With multi-player options and jumbo sized character tweezers this range promotes fine motor skills. Colourful illustrations and playful characters help to keep children focused as they play together and learn new skills. With classic style boxes that double up as game boards, the games are easy to pack away and store after use.

John Adams

01481 414 361 | www.johnadams.co.uk John Adams Leisure is expanding its well-established games portfolio and stepping into the educational toys arena with a collection of four educational games.

The games are designed to encourage learning through fun and entertainment.

Based around key learning concepts such as; counting and basic strategy, colour and shape recognition, ordering, matching and co-operative play, the range teaches these core skills via fun and engaging game formats.

The aim of Who Ate the Carrots? is to be the first to find the three carrot crunchers.

Speedy Bees is a fast paced collecting game where players must match colours to win and My Bear Wears is all about matching outfits. Pile Up Ponies revolves around the concept of stacking to increase scores. All of the games feature brightly coloured characters to encourage children to engage and learn whilst playing.

twelve first co lour jigsaws

a fun and eading e r t s ir f m a g g spellin

learn the letters of the alphabet

For sales contact your local rep/agent or contact the sales admin team on 01953 859525/859530 sales@orchardtoys.com

Toy World 74

K-Play International 01652 237 810 | www.k-play-goki.co.uk

K-Play has long been known for its range of wooden and educational toys made

by Goki. Each year, the Goki designers come up with around 300 new products.

Its catalogue runs to nearly 500 pages and its offering borders around 2500 products.

K-Play works with customers from all branches of retail; from high street names to the smallest market traders. The company also has a clear tactical policy of supporting the independent trade. It will issue its new main toy and gift catalogue in September. This means that the independents, known for their flexibility, can order the new products for the season, before they become widely available.

K-Play will also be offering two new brands within its new catalogue in September. Heimess Baby Lifestyle is a new range of plastic soother chains and baby toys and Goki Le Petit, a new range of soft baby cuddle blankets and soft rattles. As the exclusive agent for Heimess, Goki, Holztiger and Anker in the UK, these additions to the ranges will increase brand awareness in the UK.

Interplay

01628 488 944 | www.interplayuk.com The My Living World range consists of 10 kits that deliver a high level of knowledge for kids. TV Naturalist Nick Baker designed the kits’ contents and wrote the manuals. Top selling lines Ant World and Worm World were the first ever products that Interplay launched and remain best sellers. In the lower priced category, Triop World, Bug Safari, Ladybird World and Snail World are firm favourites with consumers.

Technokits is another Interplay brand that provides educational values. Each kit is designed to promote a practical knowledge of electronic and mechanical principles for kids. The top selling stunt buggy and dragster kits offer electronicbased construction activities. A new addition to the range this year is the racing truck. At higher price points, the build and fly hovercraft kit and the Rivetz dragon and pterodactyl kits offer challenging construction activities.

Interplay’s fashion brands are also developed to contain an educational element whilst engaging kids in subject matters. With Invent-a-Scent perfume from the FabLab range, girls discover how real perfumes are made and blended whilst experimenting with their own creations.

Educational

Galt Toys

01614 289 111 | www.galttoys.com Playmoney has been reintroduced by Galt, the set contains over 100 pieces and an eight section tray with coin stickers for sorting and for use as a till tray. The set includes a play guide with helpful tips and games, to help support learning at home through hands-on activities.

Galt’s new First Picture products are individually designed to encourage learning through play, helping key child development milestones such as manual dexterity, handeye coordination and language development.

First Lacing Pictures contains six animal pictures on sturdy board, and eight colourful laces. Children are required to thread the chunky laces through the holes in the animal pictures.

First Sticker Pictures contains 100 reusable stickers and six picture boards including space, dinosaur and farmyard scenes. Children can make up stories as they add the themed stickers to the six picture backgrounds. The vinyl stickers are reusable and easy to peel.

First Mosaic Pictures encourages colour and shape “While educational toys are viewed as one of the hottest trends for this year, learning is, and recognition as children match the foam tiles to the always has been, at the very heart of everything we do at Galt. As parents and grandparents look coloured shapes. The set has everything needed to for different ways to entertain and educate at the same time, we design products to support this. create six colourful mosaics with 4,500 self-adhesive The Play and Learn range is no exception, providing hours of fun for children while developing foam shapes. No glue is required. young minds.”

John McDonnell, managing director

Hero product

Golden Bear

Halilit

01952 608 308 | www.goldenbeartoys.com

01254 872 454 | www.halilit.co.uk The Halilit educational range includes drums, glockenspiels, maracas, school percussion and musical gift sets, all designed to introduce children to rhythm and music-making.

The Halilit School Recorder is accurately tuned to meet educational specifications and comes with a cleaning rod and storage bag.

For pre-school children, Scotchi is a range of illustrated pre-school activity puzzles that help them to learn about shapes, colours, time, spelling, shopping and opposites.

This series of puzzles are made from polypropylene, so are both flexible and washable. Each puzzle has pieces with a velcro-style attachment which means that when complete, the pieces stay securely in place.

The latest addition to the portfolio is the Battat range of pre-school toys, which includes classic role-play items such as doctors, vet and constructors tool kits along with a selection of sorters, stackers, trucks and sand and water toys.

Halilit also offers an extensive range of sensory toys including life-size soft foam brick sets and soft, textured, Sensory Balls from Edushape in a choice of solid or translucent, glow in the dark or dual colours.

Giant building fun from Brik-A-Blok and construction sets from Interstar complete the range.

The pull-along Big Red Boat from the Twirlywoos range mimics learning patterns from the show.

It combines electronic elements and character figures and includes hidden features. It also includes character phrases and songs which can be activated across the boat, along with flashing lights, opening doors and a fruit tea machine.

The Explore and Learn Activity Table from the In The Night Garden collection features three characters plus interactive and electronic features such as stories, songs, games and imaginative play all packed into a multi-purpose play table/storage unit. Introducing simple learning patterns, children can develop their imagination through pretend play or switch to the electronic learning mode using the squeaky hammer for fun games. The removable activity table top can be placed on the floor to accommodate younger children.

The Explore and Learn Activity Carousel features a flashing light and five interactive electronic panels as well as two modes; character songs and sounds or simple word learning.

The Something Special range featuring Mr Tumble focuses on the five key learning elements to encourage touching, sound recognition, light, texture and dexterity. All of the packaging includes Makaton – a widely used form of communication based around signing. The Something Special Sensory Activity Centre features a wall of mirrors, wavy slides, textured spots and other features which help develop fine motor skills.

Toy World 76

Quality toys with key educational themes and worksheets included

RRPs fro

m

£8.99

facebook.com/DKL.Toys

DKL Marketing Ltd 11 Deer Park Road, Northampton NN3 6QD, UK

twitter.com/DKLtoys

tel 01604 678780 • fax 01604 678787 • email dkl@dkl.co.uk • web www.dkl.co.uk

Educational

KD UK

01727 827194 | www.kdplanet.com/uk One side of the My Push & Learn Thomas train helps to teach children about numbers and letters, whilst the other side helps to develop knowledge of shapes, colours and characters.

Also in the range is My First Thomas & Friends Tablet, complete with 21 games and an LCD screen to help teach letters, maths, logic and music. Plus a smartphone which teaches colours, numbers and about the characters.

Holly’s Magical Learning Wand helps to teach colours, numbers and letters. It also has a motion sensor, when children shake the wand, music and colourful lights are activated.

Peppa’s Play & Learn Smart Watch has seven educational games including find the first letter, memory, find the matching object, odd one out, numbers, who is this and alphabet discovery. Learning and developmental benefits include observation skills, hand to eye co-ordination, cognitive development and independent play. Other new Peppa ELA’s include Peppa’s Click & Learn Camera, Peppa’s Zap & Lean Remote and Peppa’s Musical Microphone.

The In the Night Garden Trubliphone as seen on the show helps to teach colours and numbers with IgglePiggle, Upsy Daisy and friends.

Orchard Toys

01953 423422 | www.orchardtoys.com Alphabet Lotto introduces children to the alphabet. This lotto based game can be played four different ways; in the simplest version, children match picture cards to pictures on boards, but can progress to matching pictures with letters as they become familiar with the alphabet, thereby promoting language and literacy skills.

The aim of Rocket Game is to blast rockets through the sky while looping-the-loop as much as possible. For 2-6 players, this space-themed game involves turning over cards to build up each rocket’s trail with every spin of the spinner. While promoting counting skills, the game will also develop matching and memory skills and encourage observation.

A long-standing favourite, Two by Two, has recently been re-designed; the game not only looks different, but it has been re-developed to be more suitable for younger children. It has now joined the Orchard Toys Very First Games range, involving fine motor skills as well as matching and observational skills.

VTech

01235 546 810 | www.vtech.co.uk The InnoTab Max gives the performance of an adult device, while looking and feeling like one too, but it is specifically designed for kids to have fun and learn at the same time. The InnoTab Max offers a variety of curriculum supported educational games, promoting, science, creativity and problem solving amongst other subjects.

VTech’s Challenger laptops are slim in design, have a real mouse and QWERTY keyboard. This helps to develop essential early computer skills, whilst making learning fun. VTech’s laptops are packed with an age appropriate national curriculum, with a particular focus on the three subjects reading, maths and spelling.

VTech is launching InnoTV later this year; a new, high definition connected TV educational gaming system for children. InnoTV features a wireless controller that switches for left or right handed use, a joystick, motion control and a smart wheel. Cartridges from favourite characters will be available and will work across both the InnoTab Max and InnoTV.

Hero product VTech is really excited to be launching InnoTV later this year. VTech has had previous success in this category with V.Smile and V.Smile Motion, so we are sure InnoTV will be the star of the show in 2015.

Curriculum-based learning games offer a progressive learning experience that’s full of fun.

Rebecca Lazarus, senior brand manager

Toy World 78

ooooh!

Childhood is magical

PRE-SCHOOL TOYS FROM BATTAT

Distributed exclusively in the UK and Ireland by Halilit. Call or email for a catalogue.

info@halilit.co.uk T: 01254 872454 www.halilit.co.uk

Educational

Bigjigs

Clementoni

Bigjigs’ Red Bus Sorter receives a redesign for 2015 with two new features; animal block spinners and a slider which allows children to alternate the animal passengers on display on the side panel.

The Giant Abacus has 10 rows of colourful jumbo sized beads for children to practise numeracy skills and colour recognition. It can stand alone on the floor or be attached to a wall.

The wooden Learn to Count puzzle is a recent winner in the 10 Best Educational category of the Dr Toy Awards. Children can match the numbered squares to the dots on the base of the puzzle and count the brightly coloured discs as they are placed on their individual pegs.

larger kits with more game play options, extending the child’s learning to slightly more complex numeracy and literacy skills through puzzles, lotto and bingo games.

Clementoni introduces its Young Learners range, designed to develop early learning skills for preschoolers through play.

In the literacy category, the introductory alphabet game has illustrated tiles to teach children the sounds of letters, the alphabet and how to write three-letter words. Only the right tiles will fit together, helping children to independently selfcorrect their answers.

For an introduction to numeracy, the numbers game is similarly composed of interlocking tiles that will only fit together if correct and allows preschoolers to count sets of animals.

The farm animals game teaches children to recognise animals and their footprints.

Both the alphabet and numbers games come in

Paul Lamond Games

Gibsons Games

The pirate-themed lotto game Ships Ahoy! from Gibsons Games teaches matching and motor skills and encourages role play. The floor puzzles like My Body and My Space Adventure contain facts so children can learn anything from the number of bones in their hands to what stars are made of.

Dino Jigosawrus is a set of eight dinosaur puzzles in one box and ranges from the four piece Pteranodon to the 12 piece Diplodocus. Meanwhile, the tips on the back of the box encourage parents to chat with their youngster about each puzzle.

Each box has a post it slot in the top, which makes tidying up another part of the game.

Bath time is also learning time with Foam Letters and Numbers from Little Tikes. These foam toys help children learn to spell and count with letters and numbers that stick to the tub wall.

Spotty Botty by Paul Lamond Games features an interactive element with six animal sounds.

Also available is the Counting 123 puzzle and the Alphabet ABC puzzle, both of which feature a free puzzle poster and height chart.

Rush Hour Junior is a traffic jam logic game.

The aim is to set the red car free by sliding other

Puzzles and Play

Toy World 80

Little Tikes

cars and trucks across the grid to clear a path - all without removing pieces from the traffic grid. This educational game hones problem solving skills and develops critical thinking.

Rush Hour Shift is a two player version of the logic game where players have to decide whether to advance or block their opponent’s car.

Puzzles and Play’s educational range includes a selection of different games aimed at developing key areas of development such as literacy, numeracy and science. One key set of games aimed at the preschool market is Read, Match and Practice. There are three titles in the set: Alphabet, Numbers and Word Building. Each set is a combination of a board book, 26 sets of two piece self-correcting puzzle pieces and an activity book to reinforce the subject.

Trends UK’s popular Discovery Channel Planetarium projects the constellations onto the ceiling and shows children how the stars move across the night.

It also features an auditory commentary on the night sky and comes with an educational CD-ROM. Featuring real working features, the Discovery Channel toy range also includes a selection of microscopes, telescopes, a globe, a metal detector and more.

Trends UK is promoting Discovery Channel products in 2015 with TV adverts and PR and social media campaigns.

Trends UK

LeapFrog

01895 202 840 | www.leapfrog.com The LeapPad3 device includes LeapSearch, which only allows access to pre-screened online content. LeapPad3 allows access to the Learning Library, which has over 800 games, apps, eBooks, videos and music. The library’s content draws from 2,600 core curriculum skills.

Games such as Team Umizoomi and Barbie Malibu Mysteries feature Just-For-Me Maths and spelling technology where parents can enter the curriculum that will appear. With this feature, children can rehearse spelling lists or mathematic problems in the game. All games feature Adjust-to-Me Learning Technology to adapt to each child’s skill level. With Remember-MyLearning-Level, progress is remembered across games with similar curriculum.

LeapPad3 has been drop, impact and compression tested and features a shatter-safe screen.

It has 4GB of memory – enough for 20,000 photos – two mega-pixel front and back cameras, video recorders and six-hour rechargeable battery life.

LeapReader combines reading, writing and listening and the library offers solutions for learning to read. With every touch of the stylus on the pages of a LeapReader compatible book or activity set, words and pictures will come to life.

LeapReader will read aloud words and sentences and in some books will break down individual letter names and phonic sounds. It challenges children’s listening skills, asking questions to ensure comprehension of the story which encourage children to make predictions, draw conclusions and answer questions to monitor their understanding of the text.

LeapTV is compatible with an educator-approved content library of over 100 cartridge and/ or digital games and videos that blend curriculum with age-appropriate gameplay. It has been developed with first-time gamers in mind, equipped with three ways to play; Body Motion, Pointer Play and Classic Control.

The LeapTV library includes LeapFrog’s Just For Me learning elements so that games automatically adjust to cater for each child’s age and ability. Several games have a multiplayer function, meaning that children of different ages and abilities can play alongside one another and parents can easily manage each child’s profile, change wireless settings and set parental controls on the console.

The LeapTV system includes the console, motion-sensing camera, camera mount, transforming controller with wrist strap, HDMI cable, 16GB of memory and built-in Wi-Fi for downloading apps.

Designed for children

by Nature Experts

W

Stay Ahead of the Field with My Living World!

O R LD

‘Championed by TV naturalist, Nick Baker’

Fascinating outdoor activities for kids with inquisitive minds!

NEW FOR

2015

tel: 01628 488944

email: sales@interplayuk.com

…new for 2015 ‘Instant Flower Press’ 8899 Toy World Advert .indd 1

...toys & gifts designed to inspire

www.interplayuk.com 10/06/2015 08:54

Allegedly

Mothercare’s latest set of results are a great way of testing whether you’re a glass half full or half empty person. If you’re the former, the fact that losses have halved over the past year will offer some encouragement, as will the fact that the company made an underlying profit. If you’re the latter, a £13m loss and a drop in total sales will offer little comfort. Take your pick….

A recent headline in the Retail Gazette proudly proclaimed: ‘Mothercare uses gamification to train staff.’

Seriously, where to start? Even if one draws a discreet veil over the word ‘gamification’ – a hideous term by any standards – the fact that staff are apparently being educated on how to stay safe at work by a 20 minute e-learning game bears greater scrutiny. What happens if there’s a fire? “Hmm, I don’t know, I had better watch this video and play a couple of games to find out what I’m supposed to do.” Great for a primary school class perhaps, but a workplace – really? They’ll be making it into an app next. And breathe. Sorry, Allegedly is not really a curmudgeon, but some of the things that pass for modernisation do come as something of a shock to the system….

Staying with Mothercare, the retailer has announced that it will be refurbishing its stores. Yes, the same ones that were refurbished three years ago. New chief executive Mark Newton-Jones clearly isn’t impressed by the previous approach: “We want more of a boutique feel – more of a department store, rather than a shed, “he commented (isn’t it entertaining when a new executive takes such a blatant pop at his predecessor).

As part of the move, yoga studios which had been introduced into a number of stores have been ripped out because they were said to be “poorly used and required too much organisation”. Call me Captain Hindsight by all means, but how no-one saw that happening is a complete mystery….

Hang out the bunting and pop a cork to celebrate Amazon has announced that it has given in to public pressure and agreed to register purchases from British customers as being made in the UK rather than Luxembourg, meaning that – in theory – the company will finally pay proper tax in the UK. Huzzah and not before time too you might say. But wait, what is this – the announcement comes with a warning not to expect too much tax to be paid, if indeed any at all: apparently, in their own (weasel) words: “E-commerce is a low-margin business and highly competitive, and Amazon continues to invest heavily around the world, which means our profits are low.” Of course, everyone accepts that corporation tax is only paid on profits, and Amazon wouldn’t be the first company to look at ways to (legally) reduce the amount payable. But after the flack it received for its previous questionable stance, it’s perhaps surprising they felt the need to qualify the announcement with this caveat: it was almost as if they didn’t want anyone to think they might have actually developed a conscience. Perish the thought….

Asda has sent a letter to suppliers which appears to suggest that the company’s standard trading terms are covertly being extended from 30 to 60 days. Recipients were directed to a private section on the company’s

website, which stated that the standard payment terms were 60 days – which was news to some people who have a 30 day arrangement in place. It also said that if suppliers did not ratify the new terms before June 15, the letter would be ‘treated as having accepted that the conditions govern your supply’ by default. Asda defended itself to one media outlet by describing the terms as ‘nuanced’, which seems suitably vague. As for whether the whole idea is completely at odds with the government’s new Prompt Payment Code, Allegedly couldn’t possibly comment….

Catching up with former Toys R US buyer Chris Ashton recently, Alegedly found out a little more about the progress being made by his new employer - The Toy Store - in the UK. Chris is currently working from home while refurbishment of the new premises continues.

September is still the target date for the opening of the London flagship store, and the company is in the process of recruiting additional buyers to join the team.

It’s a great opportunity for Chris without a doubt, and with the arrival of the Nickelodeon Store in Leicester Square, London’s West End will soon have a number of exciting toy and entertainment retail destinations to rival Hamleys for family shopping time….

Another ex-Toys R US buyer to have embarked on a new challenge is Paul Mitchell. Paul has started his own consultancy business, Cranbourne Consulting, with Click Distribution the first client to be announced. Paul tells me that he’s delighted to be able to continue in the industry he loves, and that he’s been overwhelmed with messages of support that have really helped him through the past few weeks. It’s a story I’ve heard many times in the toy trade - indeed I enjoyed a very similar experience when I moved on from my last role four years ago. Personally I think it’s the mark of a special trade that it ‘looks after its own’, especially people who are liked by their customers and respected by their peers, as Paul unquestionably is….

One subject being widely discussed throughout the trade at the moment is that of delivery companies, with many people acknowledging that there is going to be some fun and frolics in this area as we approach the Christmas period. It’s certainly no secret that last year’s Black Friday basically crashed the delivery system, and with retailers gearing up to make this year’s Black Friday event bigger than ever before, it’s looking like the delivery conundrum is turning into the elephant in the room. In the defence of delivery companies, it’s clearly impossible to build a business around a four week period, so you have to have sympathy with their challenges. But it appears that some companies are now starting to turn down business if the increase in the peak Christmas period is more than fivefold. And that’s before we even get into the subject of the cost of delivery, which in many cases comfortably exceeds what the retailer is able to charge on to the consumer, thus eroding margin.

We’ve already seen Amazon increase the minimum cost of an order to qualify for free delivery to £20, and there is a suggestion that even this doesn’t really go far enough to seriously address the issue. It seems that this is going to be a seriously hot topic in the coming months.

New products and new episodes launching throughout 2015 Contact Graham.Saltmarsh@turner.com ADVENTURE TIME, CARTOON NETWORK, the logos, and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and Š 2015 Cartoon Network.

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