246 TOY TALK This month, intrepid adventurers raise charity funds, boy bands, politicians and a vast number of Storm Troopers... TOYTALK MANAGER OF THE MONTH
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Thierry Bourret Managing Director, Asobi
What was your first job in the toy industry? Managing director of Asobi.
What do you love most about working in the industry? The trade fair buzz, getting ready for and exhibiting at trade fairs. When I first arrive in the trade fair hall and see the mess everywhere, despite knowing that all will be ready and finished when the first customer arrives, I always fear that the stand will not be ready on time. But as if by magic, everything looks perfect by the time the show opens.
What would you do if you weren't in your current role? I would love to run a hotel or restaurant. I was brought up in the catering business and you can’t quite recreate the buzz of a busy lunch or dinner service in any other industry.
What does your average working day consist of? I get up around 6am, try to motivate myself to go for a 40 minutes walk as my job is a lot more desk-based now. I have a quick breakfast and I’m at my office by 8am. By then I have already read the emails from the Far East on my Blackberry. My days are usually spent on sales, marketing and product selection. This is peppered with a little bit of social media maintenance. I normally leave the office around 7pm to go home. It is a long day, but Asobi is a small company that needs a lot of my time and attention.
FEBRUARY 2012
What's the best bit about your role? I love exhibiting at trade fairs. How exciting is it to show your new products to regular and new customers?
And the worst? Setting up and more to the point, packing up at trade fairs.
Where do you hope your career will have taken you in five years’ time? Managing director of a much larger Asobi, employing a few more staff to be able to reduce my working hours to a more reasonable level.
Use three words to describe yourself. Big, gregarious, softie
Who would play you in Asobi: The Movie? Gerard Depardieu of course. He is quite good with the French accent.
Tell us a funny story about a moment in your toy industry career. When I launched Asobi at Top Drawer spring 2009, being used to large corporate stands where no orders are taken as you are only exhibiting there to show your new gizmos to the visitors, I did not bring any order pads. I was so surprised when one of the first visitors told me they wanted to place an order. I took the order in my contacts book, which I still have. The order was from Eric Snooks in Bath, who is a still regular customer.
BROWN NEARS THE FINISH LINE
As we go to press, Andrew Brown has taken the lead in his Atlantic rowing challenge. The Flair exec set out on his solo mission on December 5th and despite one of his two on-board batteries failing at the end of December, he managed to storm ahead and sat comfortably (or maybe not) in second place for three weeks before overtaking the front-runners in the first week of January. By the time you read this, Brown should have finished his epic 2,900-mile challenge from La Gomera, Tenerife and reached a bar in Barbados for a well- deserved drink and a slap-up meal. Hopefully, he will have stayed in front and finished within his 70-80 day target. He may even be back in time for Toy Fair... Brown’s dogged determination to complete the distance has been rewarded with a running total of £105,220 to date in sponsorship.
PEAK CONDITION
Meanwhile, 90 participants have signed up for the Three Peaks Challenge in aid of the Toy Trust, which takes place on July 6th and 7th. The group will include ToyNews’ deputy editor Katie Roberts, staff writer Lewis Tyler and sales manager Emily Briggs and execs from Vivid, Flair, Toymaster, Hornby, Wham-o, Re:creation, Rubie’s, Ravensburger, Nickelodeon, Hit, Disney, Character, Esdevium, Mind Candy, Plum Products, 50 Fifty, Wilton Bradley, Thames & Kosmos, Smyths and Arena Azure among others.
TOY GUINNESS WORLD
RECORD OF THE MONTH: LARGEST DISPLAY OF STAR WARS CLONE TROOPERS BUILT WITH INTERLOCKING PLASTIC BRICKS
The world’s largest build and display of Lego Star Wars Clone Troopers was composed of 35,210 individual models and was built by Lego in Slough, UK, on June 27th 2008.
Corporate.guinnessworldrecords.com
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