34 RETAIL ONLY HIGHSTREET Character pop-up shops open their doors
Harry Potter, Bagpuss and The Clangers benefit from exposure in Harrods and Whiteleys Key toy lines showcased... by Katie Roberts
WARNER BROS and Coolabi have opened pop-up shops in high profile retail outlets in order to make the most of the Christmas shopping season. Warner Bros has opened a Harry
Potter shop at Harrods, which will be present in-store until January 2012. Located on the third floor, the shop covers over 4,000 square feet and offers consumers a range of products including prop replicas, toys and games from Lego, Tomy, Hasbro, Winning Moves and She Who Dares, dress-up from Rubie’s and video games. Original props and costumes will be on display and game pods are set up to allow shoppers to play Lego Harry Potter games. Finally, Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter has set up a
COUNTER INSURGENT
Dispatches from the retail front line...
THE RECENT passing of Steve Jobs, even though it wasn’t
unexpected, was still a sad
day for a lot of people. The quote of the day had to go to the Radio 1 Breakfast team. There did seem to be genuine sadness that they couldn’t explain. Was it the products? Was it the charisma of the man himself? It only turned into the usual silliness when one of them said he loves McDonalds, but he couldn’t see himself getting upset with the passing of Ronald in the same way (most of us would rejoice I think). Here in the toy industry we
have nothing like it. But could manufacturers do something similar? Could Hasbro organise a keynote speech ‘Apple style’ for the latest Nerf Guns? Could Mattel do the same with a new
NOVEMBER 2011
Barbie doll? Or a Transformer designer showing every twist and turn of his latest creation? Surely there are enough geeks and collectors out there to suggest they could, but it would mean trading a suit for jeans and turtlenecks and a little charisma.
all good toy stores the next day. This industry is hopeless at keeping secrets; despite all the silly bits of paper we sign at Toy Fair, the information inside those little rooms is public knowledge – with pictures – before even I have seen it on day two of the show.
Imagine a new toy being announced the week before
release, and all the hype that could be created.
There have been some big announcements within this industry. The most recent that springs to mind is Tickle Me Elmo, but logistically we couldn’t do it.
Just imagine someone standing up, presenting Elmo and telling the buying public that it was available to buy in
Apple is very good at being a long way down the production line before telling the world. Okay I know there are rumours, but unless someone leaves a piece of Apple kit in a café (I would have loved to have seen Jobs’ face when he was told), the outside world wouldn’t get to see the finished article until
the conference. And incredibly the product is shipped within weeks, even days. I’ve banged on about street dates before and we try to have them, but they get messed up, whether it’s retailers breaking the dates, journalists after a scoop or worst still manufacturers putting the
wrong bloody date on the box. But just imagine the hype that could be created. Just imagine a new toy being announced the week before release and the hype and publicity. All we have to do is find someone with Steve Jobs’ charisma and superlatives to step up to the mark.
Further promotions include a gift with purchase and further opportunities to be announced via the Harry Potter UK Facebook page, which currently boasts over 1.4 million fans.
The Harry Potter pop-up store will be located on the third floor of Harrods until January
special installation where visitors can take their photo at the Great Hall for a sneak peek. A competition will run to win the ultimate Harry Potter prize package, including a 3D TV, a Blu- ray home theatre system, a Lego
Hogwarts castle, Tomy’s The Monster Book of Monsters, Hermione Bag, Dumbledore Wand, a Rubies dress-up costume, a book from Titan, a video game and one family ticket to the Warner Bros Studio Tour London.
Meanwhile, Coolabi teamed up with the Whiteleys Shopping Centre in London to open a shop dedicated to Bagpuss and The Clangers during the October half-term. Plush, greetings card, DVDs and slippers among other items were available in the shop, with children able to see the original puppets used in the show, meet Peter Firmin, the creator of the brands and hear the Bagpuss theme tune performed by the show’s music composer, Sandra Kerr. The exterior of the shop replicated
Emily’s famous Bagpuss store from the show.
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