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NEWS ANALYSIS


21


With the Dream Dozen revealed, Lewis Tyler took a look at the Christmas lists published by the big name retailers over the past few months and asked independent toy shops what they thought their top sellers will be this year...


predictions from small shops would not exactly reflect those of the big name retailers. Few independent retailers named


any ‘big box’ items on their lists (products priced over £70) with mid to low price-point items proving the most popular.


Collectables continue to drive toy industry growth in 2011 and around 35 per cent of respondents to our survey said that a collectable line would be a bestseller for them this Christmas, with Vivid’s Moshi Monsters Moshlings coming out on top. (Vivid has predicted sales of 20 million of these before Christmas.) Around 70 per cent of those surveyed said that at least one wooden toy would be a bestselling line for them come December 25th. While this statistic is far from revelatory it’s a stark contrast to the predictions from major retailers, where wooden toys were conspicuous by their absence.


In terms of wood, products from suppliers such as Bigjigs, John Crane and Orchard Toys were most common, as were balance bikes. So what happened to the bigger


ticket items?


PRICED OUT? Well, price is probably the best place


to start. Half of the toys in the Dream Dozen, for example, carry an retail price of £50 or over, with only one (Vivid’s Moshling Treehouse) priced under £20. With family budgets tightening and the retail giants aggressively and publicly undercutting each other’s toy prices, parents will naturally be tempted to spend their main present budget with one of the multiples. It would seem it’s literally impossible for independent retail to compete on price when the sale toys cost less to buy at retail than they do at trade. “I don’t blame them,” says Sharon Allam, owner of Pink Pig Toys in Bedfordshire. “If I could offer those prices, I would. Obviously they’re going to do that and as a consumer, you want the best price so you’re going to go there.” Like Pink Pig Toys, many respondents commented that the best way to compete is to offer what the supermarkets don’t: a wide and differentiated product range. Allam thinks her top three sellers will be Fiesta Crafts’ Large Fabric Calendar, the Jack in the Box range from Schilling and Moshling five packs from Vivid.


Lesley Schwarz, owner of Magic Dragon Toys in Bristol, says: “I think


people are not spending as much money at the moment and I couldn’t begin to compete with the supermarket prices.”


Based on current sales and demand, Schwarz picked John Crane’s Pintoy Fire Station and Fire Engine alongside TymeAgain products – wooden, medieval- themed role-play toys. “I check the Dream Toys list and it has no comparison to what we sell. Things are slowing down on the big box items,” says Paul Carpenter, owner of Totally Toys. Carpenter highlighted Vivid’s Moshlings, Sylvanian Families from Flair and Lego’s Star Wars Millennium Falcon. For Totally Toys, the Lego Millennium Falcon proved to be an exception to the downturn in big box sales – Carpenter ordered six of them and, despite a hefty retail price of well over £100, sold all but one within two weeks.


The feedback we received from independent retailers was wide ranging and differentiated, with each collection of nominations almost completely unique to the next. One point everyone we spoke to seemed to agree on, was that for Christmas this year, there is not one, but several standout, must-have toys.


THE SLOW TOY MOVEMENT


One person who is definitely disillusioned by the toys on the retail Christmas lists is Asobi Toys owner, Thierry Bourret. Bourret recently launched the Slow


Toy Movement as an antidote to what he calls the ‘plastic monstrosities’ regularly appearing on the lists. While it might seem more Scrooge than Santa, the movement could find support among the many


independents whose Christmas picks were more in line with the non- plastic, non-battery operated toys which Bourret prefers. To fulfil the ultimate goal of


promoting “well made toys that are sourced ethically and leave plenty to a kid’s imagination,” The Slow Toy Movement will publish its own top toys list on November 5th. Speaking to ToyNews, Bourret said: “If you look at the Dream Dozen there is nothing in there from the likes of John Crane and Bigjigs – these are huge companies. “I want kids to play with good quality stuff. People should know that you can spend less and get something that will last in the child’s memory for 20 years.”


NOVEMBER 2011


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