Special Feature That’s how you put on a show!

The beautiful town of Harrogate once again played host to the annual Toymaster May Show, which took place in its usual haunt – The Majestic hotel – from 16th-18th May. Here, the Toy World team reports back on what went on across the three days.

Despite the worries of the group’s commercial director, Paul Reader, that Toy World had jinxed the weather for this year’s show in its preview, the first day of the Toymaster May Show dawned sunny and bright.

Gathered at The Majestic hotel in Harrogate were over 100 of the world’s biggest and best toy companies, and a huge number of independent retailers ready to buy the latest toys and games.

Speaking to Toy World’s Rachael Simpson-Jones at the event, Paul commented: “We measure success very simply: if the suppliers are happy and our members are happy, then we’re happy. And we’re happy. We’ve had more indies register for this show than ever before, which explains the general feeling of hustle and bustle, but I also have to say that Toy World has done an amazing job of promoting the show and the indies that come to it, making it a go-to event for this sector.”

Without fail, every supplier we spoke to reported a similar story: a steady stream of retailers coming to browse and buy, a general sense of optimism and positivity, and a willingness to place orders for new, untested products.

Philip Kaye, managing director at Kayes of Cardiff – who was so busy taking orders he ruefully informed us he’d only had one coffee so far that day, despite it being well after lunch – said the indies he’d met with were keen to try out new lines, and that the positive attitude of all the buyers and retailers was ‘overwhelming’ from the second the show opened its doors. He also highlighted that, as always, the Toymaster team was ready and willing to help in any way it could throughout the event.

This year, the show welcomed an extra-special guest: Rick Derr from Learning Express Lake Zurich, US, whom many readers will know from his popular Letter from America column. Find out what he had to say about the show in this month’s column, which can be found on p. 42.

For Rick and several more retailers, Spin Master’s Bitzee was the standout toy from this year’s event, while many other retailers were keen to secure stock of Lorcana, Ravensburger’s new Disney trading card game, and (unsurprisingly) the latest Squishmallows. Readers can find out more about how retail visitors found the show in our special Indie Touching Base feature on the following pages. For Moose, which was showcasing several ‘wow’ lines, standout ranges included the new Cookiez Makery line, licensed Bluey toys and Treasure X, which senior national account manager Neil Bright said has been taken back to its roots.

Neil also told us: “I love speaking to indies because they talk to their customers directly on the front line. The big stores just look at data. It’s such a diverse group of people too. Everyone that comes on the stand is completely different to the previous person which makes for such a fun, unpredictable event.”

Day one ended with the Irish-themed party night, which was very well attended by a sea of green-clad guests, many wearing shamrock hats or waving Irish flags. Live entertainment in the form of a ceilidh band followed the first lot of awards, which saw Ciaran Fitzpatrick of Banba Toymaster in Dublin (who also sits on the Toymaster Member Committee) receive a Special Recognition Award and a coveted Golden Teddy. Ciaran told Toy World’s Marianna Casal: “I’m pretty humbled. I was caught by surprise. I’ve been re-elected for another three years and normally the award is won by someone who is retiring –maybe they’re trying to tell me something. But it’s a team effort and I’m only as good as my team.”

Six Toymaster members also received a special 25 Year Membership award: The Toy Shop, Cockermouth (Jonty & Fiona Chippendale), C&H Burns in Cookstown (Ciaran & Helen Burns), Mary’s Toymaster, Macroom (Richard & Mary Creedon), Nimble Fingers in Dublin (Gareth

Staunton), O’Mahony’s, Limerick (Colette Cotter) and Michael Beatty Toymaster in Loughrea (Michael Shiel). Day two, Wednesday, may have taken a little longer to get going owing to a few sore heads and croaky throats, but the show was soon back in full swing, and the orders continued to roll in, with one smaller supplier taking a £6,000 order before 11am. Other suppliers were also seeing substantial numbers going down on paper. Chris Lohmeyer, managing director at DKB Toys & Distribution, said that although the year has got off to a shaky start, it was good to see people actually spending money.

“The Toymaster show is an event that all of us look forward to every single year,” he told Toy World. “We’re having fewer meetings, but the meetings we’re having result in much bigger orders. We’ve gone big ourselves this year, with a larger stand and more product on show. We’re also supporting the indies as much as we can. At a time when everything is getting more expensive, margin is king. Everything we offer has 35%, 40%, 50% margin –nothing starts with a two. Crazy Aarons has sold 120,000 tins in nine months, mainly to indies, with margins of 45%. It’s all about pushing margins at the till and we’re here to help with that.”

Word had also got back to Brian McLaughlin, Toymaster development manager, that the indies were spending. We caught up with him on day two, and he told us some suppliers had reported that sizable orders were being placed shortly after 9am on the Tuesday morning, when the show first opened its doors. He also said he’d fielded a number of enquiries regarding group membership, plus a number of retailers keen to set up meetings after the show. “I’m sure some of those will become new members that we can announce in the near future,” he said.

Back on the show floor, the team once again started canvassing suppliers for feedback. Sara Taylor, managing director, UK & Ireland, MGA Entertainment UK Ltd., said: “As always, Toymaster laid on a very well-coordinated show with impressive execution. They even ordered the perfect weather temperature for those of us in the marquees. It’s always great to meet up with existing customers and industry friends as well as connecting with new members. The May show was our first unveiling of our autumn/winter lines, so it was great to receive such positive feedback on our Christmas big bets and we look forward to seeing them in the Toymaster catalogue and

Toymaster’s official Awards Night took place on the Wednesday night. While Tuesday night honoured members, Wednesday honoured suppliers, with Erica Heythornthwaite, national account manager at Orchard Toys, and Kingsley Matthews, UK sales director at Tomy, both collecting a Friends of Toymaster Award. Supplier of the Year went to Kandy Toys, with MD Gary Beswick present to collect the award on behalf of the company.

The most emotional win of the night went to Neil Leah though, who was presented – much to his surprise – with a coveted Golden Teddy award. Neil, who is head of Sales at KAP Toys, was accompanied to the awards do by his wife, Christine, as well as his friend and business partner Nat Southworth, MD of KAP Toys, and Nat’s wife, Zoe. Nat, who provided a lengthy letter in support of the award nomination, told Toy World: “He is a very deserving recipient of this award, and I wish I’d videoed his face when he realised it was for him.”

All in all, it’s beyond doubt that the Toymaster May Show 2023 was once again a resounding success. And not only that, based upon what was seen and heard at the show, it looks set to be a great second half for the indie sector.

Summarising why he thinks the event is so great, Paul told Toy World: “The show is a real opportunity to showcase what Toymaster and our industry has to offer, bringing suppliers, members and likeminded retailers together in an environment that is both enjoyable and productive. The show embodies the true spirit of what the Toy industry should be about. We genuinely cannot do this without the support of you or our suppliers and retailers. Once again, thank you for your continued support.”

“Suppliers and retailers alike have been very supportive of what we’ve done here with the show,” enthused Yogi Parmar, managing director of Toymaster. “Yes, the four or five weeks prior to the show have been tough, but the May Show is all about preparing for Q3/4 and we predict some strong Christmas trading. Our indies have ridden out the worst of the storms by remaining reactive and adaptable and the Toymaster team works hard to support them as much as possible. We’re getting things right - and feeling